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It is no secret that employers are currently struggling to find qualified individuals to fill vacant positions, and local governments in Washington State are no exception. This difficulty in filling vacancies appears to be the fallout of the so-called Great Resignation, where individuals left their jobs in record numbers (with many not returning to the workforce), which resulted in a tight labor market, making it difficult to fill vacant positions.
This blog explores outside-of-the-box approaches to filling vacant local government positions, including hiring individuals who live out of state, providing hiring bonuses or additional incentives, and allowing for alternative work schedules (and locations).
While I am not an expert on payroll taxes, one consideration for local governments employers when hiring an out-of-state worker is whether any out-of-state taxes need to be withheld from that employee’s paycheck. For example, the majority of other states have an income tax, but Washington does not. Does a Washington employer need to withhold the other state’s income tax from the employee’s paycheck?
The answer is that although the Washington municipality is not legally obligated to withhold the other state’s income tax, they may nonetheless want to do so, both for the convenience of the employee and to avoid any future compliance issues. The Washington State Office of Financial Management...
In October 2026, a rumor spread that U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico, a Texas Democrat, had received treatment at a mental health care facility in Ohio. The claim erupted after Talarico, a s...