A class action lawsuit has been filed against the state of Washington over its new mandatory long-term care program, set to become fully effective in January, 2025. The WA Cares Fund, as it is known, mandates an employee payroll tax of .58% of total pay per payroll beginning on January 1, but employees could only opt-out of the program between October 1 and November 1incorporates a number of restrictions on those seeking to access the program. As we advised a number of weeks ago, employees would given the option of opting out of the program, but if they did, they were required to purchase their own private long-term care by November 1 and then must secure an exemption by December 31. Additionally, any exemption granted one who opts out is a lifetime exemption and the employee is never eligible to opt back in to the WA Cares Fund. It has a lifetime benefits cap of $36,500 and is not portable so those who pay in may not even be eligible to access the program should they decide to leave the state. Further, only the taxpayer would be covered, not a spouse or dependent, so there are a number of issues that the court will be considering going forward.