On May 30, for the second time in two weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court has ordered that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security can proceed with termination of a humanitarian program, this time for parolees from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (“CHNV parolees”). Eleven days earlier, the court allowed the termination of the temporary protected status (TPS) designation for Venezuelan immigrants who applied in 2023. The termination of both programs will continue to be litigated in lower courts. The two Supreme Court orders merely state that the workers will not be protected while the litigation proceeds, meaning that DHS could go ahead with removal proceedings.

The number of CHNV parolees is estimated to be 532,000 workers. TPS Venezuela is estimated at 350,000 workers. Employers want to make sure that they do not continue to employ unauthorized workers; however, they must wait for DHS to advise what it intends to do with each program now that the Supreme Court has given permission to proceed.

Venezuelan workers with employment authorization documents (EADs) expiring April 2 received an automatic extension through April 2, 2026, and therefore may continue to work. Employers should monitor the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website for changes.

DHS has yet to provide guidance regarding CHNV parolees. Individual parolees may be notified, through the myUSCIS account that they used to apply for parole, that their EADs will be revoked in 15 days. Employers that participate in E-Verify, the federal government’s employment eligibility verification system, will be notified through account alerts of affected employees. Employers that use a web services provider for electronic Forms I-9 verification might be notified only by the supplier and must check with the supplier for updates.

In an effort to close a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson recently approved several bills containing tax increases, including one bill that expands the sales tax base to include additional services, including temporary staffing services.

The bill, SB 5814, expands which industries are covered by the state’s 6.5% tax on retail services. As of Oct. 1, 2025, the term “retail sale” will include, among other services, temporary staffing services. When added to existing local sales taxes, the total sales tax rate on temporary staffing services imposed on consumers and collected by the seller could exceed 10%.

ASA, along with several Washington state staffing firms and other businesses, vigorously opposed the proposed bill as it worked its way through the legislature, arguing that a sales tax on temporary services is “a tax on jobs that will harm Washington’s workers and the state’s economy.”

Following passage of the bill, ASA submitted a letter to the governor urging him to veto the tax on temporary staffing services because it would hurt small businesses, job seekers, and consumers and make Washington an outlier among West Coast states that would place the state at a competitive disadvantage with neighbors that do not impose such taxes.

Because temporary staffing services will now be treated as “retailing” rather than “servicing,” staffing agencies will see a decline in their state’s business and occupation tax. The B&O tax on retailing is currently 0.471%; services are taxed at 1.5%–1.75%. Both rates are scheduled to increase in the future.

To determine the net tax effect of the new sales tax law on their business, ASA members doing business in the state of Washington are urged to discuss the new law with accounting professionals or tax counsel before the changes go into effect.