1 unemployment insurance benefits. 2 what is unemployment insurance? federal/state program developed...
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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
BENEFITS
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What is Unemployment Insurance? Federal/State program developed in the
1930’s Designed to stabilize the economy Benefits cannot be denied to claimant unless
we have evidence showing the claimant is not eligible to receive them
Insurance - funded by employers through payroll tax – NOT an entitlement program
Partnership The UI Program is a partnership between
employers and the UI Division (UID) Timely and detailed information from the
employers is vital to making the correct eligibility decision
UID determines claimant eligibility for benefits based on information provided and application of UI laws and Administrative Rules
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Program Integrity continued Overpayments caused by:
Employers not responding timely or adequately prior to the initial determination New legislation 39-51-605 MCA
Failure to seek work Failure to correctly report hours and gross
earnings
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Who Can File a Claim? Anyone can file a UI claim – anytime
File online at UI4U.mt.gov, or By Calling the Claims Processing Center
406-444-2545 or 406-247-1000
UID determines if the claim is eligible.
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Base Period Wages UI claims are based on wages in the
claimants’ base period first four of the last five completed quarters The claimant could have worked for you as
far back as 18 months, and wages you reported quarterly would appear in their base period
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Alternative Base Period (ABP) When a claimant does not have enough wages to
be monetarily eligible in the regular base period ,
he/she can possibly use an ABP The ABP is the last four completed quarters The employer may be asked to provide the wage
information for the last quarter completed if they haven’t been reported yet
Base Period Information Wages reported during the base period or
alternate base period are used to determine claimant’s benefit amount, and
Any employer who paid wages during the base period of a claim is potentially chargeable for benefits paid on the claim
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Weekly Benefit Amount In most cases the weekly benefit amount is
1% of the total base period wages Maximum benefit amount: $464 per week Minimum benefit amount: $ 132 per week
Duration of Benefits Claims last for one year from the week
filed Maximum of 28 weeks of full benefits Minimum of 8 weeks Can draw benefits on the claim until their
monetary entitlement is exhausted or the claim year ends – if continue to be eligible
Every UI claim has a waiting week
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Emergency Unemployment (EUC08) Currently Montana has EUC benefits for
claimants that have exhausted their UI claim These benefits are paid by the federal government We currently have one Tier of emergency
benefits EUC program is scheduled to expire 12/28/2013 EUC benefits are not chargeable to employers
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Non-”Monetary” Qualifications Able and available for full time work
Actively seeking work – full time work unless UID has allowed them to seek part-time, unless job/union attached
Actively registered with Job Service
Must report refusals of work
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Job Attached If a claimant is not working at all, they can be
job attached if they will be returning to 30 hours or more a week and there is at least an estimated date of return, or
If the claimant is working part-time, they can be job attached if they will be returning to full time (40) hours per week est. date
Employer can elect not to job attach a claimant
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Partial Benefits Working Part-time
Claimant worked less than their customary hours per week and earned less than two times the weekly benefit amount
Claimants are required to report hours and gross earnings on the payment requests
Claimants receive a reduced benefit based on reported earnings. Benefits are reduced by $0.50 for each dollar earned over ¼ of their weekly benefit amount
Customary Hours Individuals who regularly work less than full time (40
hours/week) are considered to be fully employed during any week they work their customary hours or more
Customary Hours are a calculation of the average number of hours available to the claimant per week during their base period
Base period employers are asked to provide the hours the claimant worked each week of the base period plus hours available but not worked due to weather conditions, holidays, sick or personal leave
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Unpaid Leave of Absence Leave of Absence (LOA) must be requested by
the claimant and approved by employer An administrative leave imposed by the employer is
a suspension for UI purposes
Claimant is not considered separated from the employment Claimant is ineligible to receive benefits
unless the LOA is due to an on-the-job injury
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LOA continued If the claimant doesn’t return to work at the
end of the LOA, a separation has occurred If work is not available – layoff If claimant chooses or is not able to return – quit If the employer doesn’t let the claimant return to
work – discharge
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Unpaid Suspension If the claimant is placed on a suspension,
benefits are denied for up to the first 2 weeks of the suspension
If the suspension last longer than 2 weeks, the suspension becomes a discharge for UI purposes
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Suspension – Employer Information
Dates the claimant was suspended If the suspension is paid or unpaid If the claimant is expected to return to work
for you
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Separations Investigated by UI Last employment
No matter when that separation occurred Any employment within six weeks prior to
the initial or reactivation date There can be multiple separations during this
period and all the separations must be found to be non-disqualifying for the claimant to be eligible to receive benefits
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Separations In order to allow benefits when a separation has
occurred, UI Law requires: If the claimant quit the job, the reason for quitting
must be attributable to the employment With a few exceptions Claimants bear the burden of proof
If the claimant is discharged, the reason for discharge must be for misconduct as defined by UI law Employer bears the burden of proof
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Examples of Qualifying Separations Lay off due to a lack of work
Lay off/end of a temporary job or contract
Quit for work related reasons
Discharge for reasons other than misconduct – regardless of probationary period
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Temporary Employment Completion of the agreed upon assignment,
contract, or project – layoff - lack of work If the claimant leaves prior to the agreed
upon end of the work – quit If the employer terminates the employment
prior to the agreed upon end date – discharge
Valid Notice If a claimant gives a valid notice of leaving,
but the employer lets them go prior to the end of the notice period, the separation is considered a quit
If an employer gives a valid notice of termination (discharge/layoff), but the claimant leaves prior to the end of the notice period, the separation is considered a discharge
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Quit for Work Related ReasonsBenefits May Be Allowed
If the claimant can show things like: Adverse working conditions Change in working agreement On-the-job injury Did not receive pay A compelling reason in itself, is not sufficient
to show good cause. The claimant must show they gave their employer a reasonable opportunity to correct the problem prior to leaving
Employer Documentation Document employee complaints/concerns Include what steps you took to resolve the
problem If you could not resolve the problem explain
why If you conducted an investigation of the
problem, document that in the employee file – what you did and the result
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Quit for Personal ReasonsBenefits May Be Denied
To move To accept or seek other work To care for a family member Child care or transportation problems Dissatisfaction with working conditions Not given promotion Conflict with supervisor or co-worker After reprimand Distance to work – unless the job site moved and that is
not normal to the occupation
Allowable Personal Reasons Domestic violence Quit to follow military spouse Leaves temporary work to immediately
return to their regular employer Leaves work because of being ordered to
military service of less than 6 weeks
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Quit Requalification A quit disqualification can be ended if:
The claimant has worked and earned 6 times their weekly benefit amount, in employment covered by UI, after the disqualifying separation occurred
If the claimant has attended school for 3 consecutive months at an accredited educational institution after the separation occurred
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Personal Medical Quit If the claimant was unable to work due to a
medical condition for 7 consecutive work days, it is considered a medical quit. If the claimant was advised to leave by a licensed
and practicing health care provider, and They have been released to return to their previous or
similar position without restrictions, and They check back with the employer and offer to
return to work but no work is available Disqualification can be ended
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Medically Unsuitable If the medical condition is permanent or
long term and the claimant’s health care provider advised them to change occupations or work environments, the work is no longer suitable for the individual and benefits can be allowed
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Discharge for MisconductBenefits May Be Allowed
Missing money or items Employer not able to show claimant took the missing money or
items Absence or tardiness that claimant could not control
Illness Weather related
Employer’s statement not provided Unintentional property damage Inability to do the job satisfactorily Seeking other work
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Discharge for MisconductBenefits May Be Denied
Refused to perform work as instructed Absent, failure to notify employer Excessive absence or tardiness within their control Decline in the quality of work Rude or offensive behavior Conduct on the job
Off Duty Conduct In order for off duty conduct to be determined as
misconduct, the conduct must: Significantly and adversely affect the claimant’s
ability and capacity to perform job duties; and Significantly and adversely affect the employer’s
business to a substantial degree Connection between the misconduct and its affect on
the employer’s business must be reasonable and discernible. Speculation is not sufficient
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Discharge Requalification A discharge disqualification can be ended
if: The claimant has worked and earned 8 times
their weekly benefit amount, in employment covered by UI, since the disqualifying separation occurred
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Employer Documentation Detailed description of the final incident
that directly led to the discharge – including what happened, when, who was involved and witness statements if possible
Company Policy – if the discharge was for a violation of a company policy, you must provide a copy of the policy and documentation showing the claimant was aware of the policy
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Warnings Warnings can be verbal or written but the
same components should be documented: A description of the incident that led to the
warning Date of the incident Date the warning was issued Expectations for correction of that particular
problem, and The consequences if the problem continues
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Warnings continued Written warnings should:
Be signed and dated by the person issuing the warning
Ask the employee to sign and date an acknowledgement that they received it – even if they don’t agree with it. (giving them an opportunity to respond to it can work in the employer’s favor)
Good idea to have a witness present who can attest to the fact that the warning was issued
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Warnings continued Remember warnings must have
consequences attached to them or they are just discussions
Discussions (formal or informal) for on-going training or performance enhancement are not warnings
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Employer Tips Company policies are great, but they should be
reasonable and they must be followed If you do not follow your policy, your actions or
inaction overrides the policy and sets the expectations for your employees
If your policy says termination will occur after 7 absences, but the 7th absence is not within their control, UI will not consider the discharge to be for misconduct
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Gross Misconduct A criminal act other than a traffic violation for
which the claimant: has been convicted in a criminal court, or has admitted ,or conduct that demonstrates a flagrant and wanton
disregard of and for the rights, title or interest of a fellow employee or the employer
Theft of property or funds - $100 or more constitutes gross misconduct for UI purposes
Disqualification is for 52 weeks
Separation Investigations Claims Examiners contact employers by phone,
fax or mail to obtain separation information Information from you is vital to making the
correct eligibility determination If you fail to respond timely or adequately,
without showing good cause for your late or inadequate response, you risk losing your interested party status and if an overpayment results, it will not be credited to your account
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Good Cause Reasonably compelling circumstances
which did not result from an act or omission on the part of the person claiming good cause and which could not be overcome by reasonable diligence on the part of the person
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Employer Responses Be sure you answer all the questions that are
asked Even if you don’t think the question applies
Provide details – dates are extremely important Saying something like the final incident
was for poor performance is not sufficient Need details – what happened, when etc.
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What to Provide… When a claim is filed, provide all separation
information, including copies of disciplinary actions and policies
Address the issue that resulted in the termination – the final incident Even if there was an accumulation of incidents, there
must be a final incident that finally led you to decide to discharge
Prior warnings/incidents should be related to the actual reason for discharge
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Questions to Answer Tardiness and/or Absence
How many times the claimant was tardy and/or absent, including dates, and the reasons the claimant gave for each incident
The procedure the claimant was given for notifying your business of tardiness and/or absence, and if the claimant followed that procedure
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Drug or Alcohol Violation Describe how you determined the claimant was
under the influence of drugs or alcohol Provide a copy of the company Drug/Alcohol
Policy If the claimant was tested, explain why (pre-
employment, suspicion, post accident etc.)
Drug or Alcohol continued If the test was for a pre-employment
requirement, explain why you allowed the claimant to work prior to receiving the test results
Benefits cannot be denied if the claimant failed or refused to take a drug/alcohol test unless the employer’s drug/alcohol testing policy meets the requirements of state law or federal regulations
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Drug or Alcohol continued
If the claimant’s position does not meet the definition of an employee who can be drug/alcohol tested under the law, benefits will not be denied unless the employer can show the claimant’s behavior/performance meets the definition of misconduct
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Theft Provide evidence to show:
Theft occurred The claimant was responsible for the theft Witness statements Charges have been filed
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Job Performance Describe the job the claimant was hired to do, and
the training you provided, including dates The length of time the claimant worked in the job If the claimant had done the job satisfactorily in the
past, describe the circumstances that led to a decline in the quality of work
If the claimant was given a chance to improve, explain and provide supporting documentation
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Loss of License or Insurability Describe the job requirements, and if the
claimant met those requirements at the time of hire, or what efforts were made by the claimant to meet the requirements
Describe the incident(s) that led to the loss of license or insurability and subsequent discharge, and how it affected your business
Witness Statements Witness statements must be
Signed and dated In their own words Include what they witnessed, when etc
Must be shared with the claimant to give them an opportunity to respond to the information
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Employer Accounts Experience Rated Employers
For profit employers Governmental Employers
Funding comes from a governmental source Reimbursable Employers
Non-profit organization that qualify for a 501(c) (3) exemption with the IRS
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Proportional Charging Employers are charged based on the percentage
of wages paid as compared to the total wages paid by all employers in the claimant’s base period
If ABC Company paid 78 percent of the wages in the claimant’s base period, they are potentially chargeable for 78 percent of the benefits paid on the claim
If your account is chargeable and another employer’s account is relieved of charges, the percentage your account is charged does not change
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Governmental EmployerCharge Relief
Charges are relieved if: The claimant is still working at the time the
claim is filed and there is no reduction in
hours or wages or the
reduction is less than
10%
You will be asked to provide information for the 4 weeks prior to and the 4 weeks following the effective date of the claim.
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Appeal Process Initial Determination Re-determination Hearings Bureau Board of Labor Appeals (BOLA) District Court Supreme Court
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Programs In Place To Detect Fraud
Claims Investigations - quarterly Tips – uid.mt.gov for fraud reporting form Cross-matches
Workers Comp Jail New Hire Report & rehires after more than 60
days State Employees – when completed we will cross-
match state employees every payday
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Providing Information to Unemployment Insurance
Claims Processing Centers Helena (406) 444-2545 Billings (406) 247-1000 Fax: (406) 444-2699
Fraud investigation: Earnings: Jamie Valvoda (406) 444-1765
Sy Sundsted (406) 444-2937 Jerry Lord(406) 444-1709
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Questions? General Unemployment Insurance Benefit questions
ui4u@mt.gov Employer Charging
(406) 444-0399 UID DLI.UID.MT.GOV/Tax
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