What you need to know about the Department of Labor Industries’ updated Contractor Portal

At the end of May, the Department of Labor Industries announced several upgrades to its Contractor Portal. These upgrades include increased validation and a speedier filing process designed to save you time and energy. Specifically, the updates focus on three areas:

1.) Social Security Number Validation. On Jan. 1, Revised Code of Washington 39.12.120 went into effect. Under this code, employee payroll must be filed with the full nine-digit Social Security number of an employee. Per the Social Security Administration, the following format will not be accepted: “Start with “9”, “666”, “000” or have “00” in positions 4-5 or have “0000” in positions 6-9.” You can review RCW 39.12.120 in full by clicking here.

2.) New Trade Notes field. Previous iterations of the Contractor Portal didn’t allow for contractors to include project information in filing reports. With the latest upgrade, that changes. Now, contractors have the option to provide additional information about work being performed at a specific job site. This includes the corresponding federal Davis-Bacon trade and classification.

3.) Updated XML schema. The Contractor Portal relies on XML schemas to track and process payroll in a timely, efficient manner. To address some of the most common issues, the Department of Labor Industries has included more detailed descriptions and validations to ensure your file is set up correctly and matches all system requirements.

The new XML schema also includes a tradeNotes element, located after the jobClass element. You can download a copy of the new XML schema by clicking here.

Unsure how to get started? If you have questions or concerns about the new updates to the Contractor Portal, feel free to email us at any time. Create a draft with the subject line “5.21.20 system updates,” and send it to pw1@lni.wa.gov.

We hope you find the upgrades convenient and that they make your job much easier. Thanks for reading!