Sno-King Referee Group

The Washington State Referee Committee will be presenting a series of Zoom Training Sessions to help prepare us for when games start again. All clinics run 7p - 8p and you can register at wareferees.o...

Referees: Update regarding Unemployment Benefits for Independent Contractors (Soccer Referees and other sports officials). Here is the link to the current Self-Employed/Independent Contractor...

Referees: I just heard for the Federal Stimulus Package Unemployment Insurance that Washington State is updating their system after April 18th.

So many of you have asked me what I know about the process that referees should be using to access funding from the Federal Corona-Virus Stimulus Act and/or WA Unemployment Benefits. Many of you are wondering if you qualify and how to find out. I dont have any solid answers for you - my advice has been to reach out to your tax advisor, find one or continue to research on your own. This is a completely new experience for everyone as for the first time Independent Contractors are being included in this programming. Since it is new there are no rules/procedures set up yet that I can find. 

One thing I do know is if you decide to apply for WA Unemployment - do not list any of the local or regional referee associations as your employer. You are an Independent Contractor - not an employee and this is a significant difference legally and for your potential benefits. Filing as an employee could delay and/or negatively impact your ability to receive any funds. Follow the instructions provided as a Sole Proprietor or Independent Contractor - which they may not have available yet. I have heard from a number of sources and I know several of the local referee associations are receiving letters from the Employment Securities Department of WA State asking to confirm employment status of individuals - each of the notices are being returned to the state indicating that the individual requesting benefits is not and has never been an employee of the organization. From what I understand this puts your application for benefits into a process of decline and it could be challenging for you to reapply as an Independent Contractor - but this is something you need to talk to your tax advisor about. 

I wont go into any more details instead I am providing three links to additional information that might help your research. EKCSRA provided these links last week so some of you might already have them. This is a complicated process and it is likely that some of you will not qualify while some will - but there is a significant amount of research you must do on your own. You own your own business - it's officiating sports - and if you want to access any of the federal/state funding you need to invest time and energy into finding out how. 

- https://www.referee.com/sports-officials-and-the-coronavirus-stimulus/ 
- https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/independent-contractors-eligible-for-34497/ 
- https://ogletree.com/insights/the-cares-act-and-its-impact-on-independent-contractors-and-gig-workers/

The Employment Security Department is Washington’s unemployment compensation agency. As you probably know, ESD is currently swamped with applications for unemployment benefits. It is also possible that ESD is not fully up to speed in how to evaluate and process claims from independent contractors. Even so, if you qualify it doesn’t hurt to try to start the process sooner rather than later. If you decide to do so, please remember to say that you are self-employed or an independent contractor. DO NOT SAY ANY SOCCER REFEREE CHAPTER IS YOUR EMPLOYER. If you do that, it will only screw things up for you.

This is best info I have been able to find through my own limited research - if you find something helpful let me and we will post it online :) 

-- Larry :)

Referee Running Group on Monday nights at Garfield HS -- while we are on a bit of a break stay healthy and find some time to continue running. Consider the Monday Night Running Group or find y...

Effective March 11 all Seattle RATS Matches will follow the lead from Washington State Governor and King County Health Department recommendations that were issued. All RATS matches will be cancelled u...

UPDATE to Coronavirus Policy as of 3.6.20 -- With the recent cases of the COVID-19 Coronavirus virus in Washington state, we wish to communicate to all Match Officials, Clubs, Teams, Players,...

Effective March 11 all Youth Matches within both PSPL/US Club and WSYSA will follow the lead from the Washington State Governor and King County Health Department recommendations that were issued. All ...

🤑 SKREFS is a pass-through organization and can only pay referees after receiving funds from the soccer clients (clubs/leagues). Typically our clients pay within the first 5 days of the month and r...

RATS Referees -
Please note the following Points Of Emphasis from the players/league for this fall season:

1. Please make sure you are protecting the Keepers (and other f...

Referees - most of you know your 1099's have been processed and completed. You can find them online under REFEREE tab then FINANCES tab then 1099 tab then set to 2019 and click SHOW - magic dust from ...

If you are experiencing any issues using your iPhone and this website or other Ridgestar Referee sites (SKCSRA, EKC etc ...) please let Larry know as we are working on why this is occurring and ...

RATS 8v8 Rules - please review if you are working any of these matches. Questions let us know :) 8v8 is a new division within RATS with aprx 24 men's, women's and coed teams.

Referees need to embrace these FiVE Pillars Of RATS Referring within our adult community - the players care deeply about these - do your part to meet their expectations each match:

1- K...

Pay Differential is in place for all Advanced Referee Grade 5s and 6s. RATS wants to honor your efforts and skill showing their appreciation for your involvement within the league with a $10 ...

Your parking fees for Marymoor Park ($1) and Bobby Morris (variable) will be added to your match fees. Thank you for making the effort to get to these fields - we appreciate it.

SHIN GUARDS are required by all players. Please confirm with team captains prior to the start of the match that their players are all properly equipped. If you notice during the match someone without ...

Field Issues - if there are issues at the field (double booked, lights, etc ...) follow this procedure:

1- If one or both teams do not show at the field contact RATS Administrators (Romes/L...

PROFILE - please update your profile to include your USSF Number, Direct Deposit and other data. Without this info your self assigning ability is limited. If your bank is not listed please let Larry k...

Referees we want to Remind you About Yellow and Red cards Please follow the link below and read the leagues expectations regarding pl...

Referees please sign up for Direct Deposit as soon as possible. If your bank is not listed online please let Larry know - snokingref@gmail.com

Seattle RATS is affiliated with US Adult Soccer and USSF through USSSA Soccer. There are no rosters to check nor player cards to deal with. League Rosters are all digital and on file with the league. ...