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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