Unemployment Insurance

In very quick order the House passed this morning and the Senate passed H.R 2029, the Omnibus appropriations and tax extenders bill, and sent the bill to the President for his signature. The President has said he will sign the bill.  The two pieces of the bill addressing tax extenders provisions and appropriations were negotiated together. [...]

In a press release on October 22nd, Gov. Mike Pence made it official that the state is paying off a longtime unemployment debt to the federal government, a move the governor indicates will save Indiana businesses $327 million statewide in 2016. "We are leveraging the fiscal strength of this state in a way that will support [...]

The US Department of Labor periodically posts UI Benefit Appeals data showing the UI Appeal Reversal rates when claimants appeal and when employers appeal. The average reversal rates are similar on a national basis. For Lower  Level Appeals, 34.5% for Claimant Appeals and 37.7% for Employer Appeals. At the Higher level Claimants prevail on average 12.7% [...]

The 2015 Edition of the Highlights of State Unemployment Compensation Laws book (The Green Book) is now available for purchase. If you have not already received or ordered the 2015 Edition, now is the time to complete your order. The book provides a comprehensive updated comparison of the primary features of state unemployment insurance tax and [...]

On August 12th, the US Department of Labor released the Significant Measures of State UI Tax Systems report reviewing state data for 2014. The report is available by link to http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/sigmeasuitaxsys14.pdf. The report demonstrates the variation state by state in the distribution of UI tax burden and identifies areas to be addressed by policy and or [...]

On August 10th Governor Steve Beshear announced that Kentucky had repaid the Title XII loan debt to the federal government. The payoff is expected to trigger a significant reduction in the Federal Unemployment Tax to be paid by employers on employment in Kentucky for 2015. Governor Beshear estimated that the payoff would result in a reduction [...]

The Senate Finance Committee today passed a tax extenders package that would extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for two years through December of 2016 and an amendment in committee would expand the coverage to include individuals who have exhausted unemployment compensation. A summary of the Chairman’s amendment is available at http://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/JCX-103-15%20%20Chairman's%20Modification.pdf . The expansion to [...]

Of the states that have not repaid their UI trust fund loans to the federal government and are subject to the Benefit Cost Rate (BCR) Add On, only Connecticut has chosen not to seek a waiver of the additional tax. The BCR Add On in Connecticut will further increase the FUTA tax for employers in Connecticut [...]