HRMS has been updated to reflect the legal changes for Washington state agencies around notifying their employees about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program brought about by House Bill 1950.
At a high level, HB 1950 does the following:
Eliminates a requirement for agencies to provide a manual PDF version of the form for separated employees and previously certified current employees, and instead clarifies current and former employees can also submit a request to certify employment through the federal online help tool instead.
Requires agencies to provide PSLF awareness materials to separated employees with information on how to submit a PSLF employment certification request.
Requires agencies to send a notice to employees one year after certifying their employment for PSLF. These reminders prompt employees to update their employment dates and use the PSLF Help Tool to initiate a PSLF employment certification request.
Definition: The date an employee's employment was last certified for the PSLF program.
Note: When the employee's PSLF Status is set to Opt In (1), this should reflect the date employment was last certified, and should be updated annually to reflect the new date.
Definition: Indicates whether an employee has opted into the Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) employment certification process for Washington state agencies.
Definition: Use this selection for an employee who has requested PSLF employment certification.
Note: When Opt In (1) is selected, the employer should send a reminder to the employee to recertify their employment for the PSLF program one year after the last certification date.
Consider using the PSLF Recertification (45) task type to track the due date of an employee’s annual PSLF employment recertification.
Opt Out (2)
Definition: With the passage of House Bill 1950, effective June 6, 2024, agencies no longer need to track employees who have opted out of the PSLF employment certification process.
Note: Agencies can continue to use this selection value if they have a business need to do so. However, employers are required to provide PSLF awareness materials to separated employees with information on how to submit a PSLF employment certification request, including to employees who have previously opted out.
Unspecified (0)
Definition: Use Unspecified for an employee who has not requested PSLF employment certification from the employer.
Note: Unspecified (0) is the default value for this field (or blank if the record hasn’t been maintained since this field was added).
Upon separation from state service, the losing agency should encourage the employee to certify their employment for the PSLF program for their time with the agency. This is especially important if the employee is leaving public service, as they can only apply for PSLF while currently employed by a qualifying public service employer. Agencies must give separated employees the updated PSLF eligibility letter (RCW 41.04.045). If you have any questions about the PSLF process as an employer, please send your question(s) to PSLF@ofm.wa.gov.
The gaining agency must contact the losing agency to inform them of the appointment.
The losing agency will need to have entered, changed, or deleted any necessary data prior to the gaining agency performing the appointment change action; such as enter or delete leave in CATS, complete garnishments, enter or end agency-specific deductions or payments. The losing agency must also check the employee's PSLF status and encourage their employee to recertify their employment for the PSLF program if they have requested it previously. If you have any questions about the PSLF process as an employer, please send your question(s) to PSLF@ofm.wa.gov.
