Like any kind of insurance, when former employees file for and are approved to receive unemployment insurance benefits, the experience rating raises and in turn causes you to spend more money to cover the expense.  That experience rating stays with you for a period of three years.  While some business owners look at this cost as part of what it takes to run their businesses, they can take steps to control this cost and at a minimum keep it from rising.

Unemployment insurance benefit decisions are made by the Department of Labor, not individual employers.  Just because you may think a former employee is not eligible to collect unemployment insurance, there is no guarantee the former employee will be denied the benefit.  From the beginning of any kind of employment issue you should take steps to enable you/us to present the facts at the hearing putting you in a better position to have the case end in your favor.

This is why documenting performance issues and or any kind of downsizing or reorganization your company experiences will help us to first, provide the Department Of Labor with accurate information from the beginning and second help us appeal the decision made by the Department of Labor if we/you don’t feel it is justified.

Please call our offices with these kinds of issues and allow us to help you identify and document problem situations, behavior correction efforts, disciplinary action and termination proceedings to limit your unemployment costs.

At the very least, if you receive a Notice of Potential Liability from the Unemployment Insurance Office, please contact our offices immediately.  Once a former employee files for unemployment, we are required to respond to the notice and time is of the essence.  In the absence of the notice of potential liability we won’t know the former employee has filed for unemployment and will be unable to assist in providing the Department Of Labor with the appropriate information.

 
For your information, the current maximum benefit one can receive is $519 per week (effective October 2008).  Some individuals may be eligible for an additional $25 per week from the federal economic stimulus bill sign into law on 2/17/09.

For further information, please post your questions here or call our offices to speak with Donna Kakadeles at 1-800-836-9678 ext. 13.