Have you signed up for an online account

with the Department of Workforce Services

yet? DWS offers Arkansas employers an

online method for handling their

Unemployment Insurance accounts. The

DWS website includes a link to many of the

employer UI notices and reports that

employers are accustomed to completing by

hand and submitting by mail. Signing up

online makes it easy to keep track of UI tax

accounts.

To access the online menu, visit the DWS

website http://dws.arkansas.gov/ and click on

UI Employer Services under the Employers

tab. Then select the link Online

Unemployment Insurance Employer Services portal. Once the screen displays, choose from the many options listed.

A DWS employer account and online user ID are needed to get started. Companies that have never registered with DWS, may

register and apply for an account number on this site. The left hand column on the main page (Welcome to Arkansas DWS

Online Unemployment Insurance Employer Services) allows visitors to immediately start the registration process.

Employers using the online services are discovering they can save both time and money by responding electronically to DWS.

Paper and postage can be reduced as well as no more lost or delayed mail, plus keeping track of paper work is so much easier

when it is all online!

This newsletter gives just a brief glimpse of the online services. DWS encourages Arkansas employers to visit the DWS

website and take a more detailed look at what is now available online. It is the agency’s goal to provide innovative methods

of communication and providing information to assist employers in working with DWS.

Any Arkansas employer can set up an online DWS account - http://dws.arkansas.gov/

Register your company today!

This system offers the following online services to employers

Online Unemployment Insurance Services

Employer Newsletter Arkansas Department

of Workforce Services Spring 2019

Apply for a DWS Employer Account Number

File and pay Quarterly Contribution and Wage Reports

Respond to the UI 901A Overpayment Wage Response

System

Register for and respond to the UI Benefit Notice

Response System & Shared Work Program

Report Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Notify DWS of a potential employee’s refusal of work,

failure to submit to or pass a pre-employment drug screen

Report a failure to appear for a scheduled job interview

Who wants to save time and money?

Employer Newsletter Spring 2019 page 2 Online UI Employer Services

Online UI Employer Services……………...……….….…......page 2

UI Tax Registration & Quarterly Reporting-Tax 21.......page3

UI 901A Overpayment Wage

& Benefit Notice Response System………..……….…...…….....page 4

Combatting Unemployment Insurance Fraud……….……page 5

Recent Arkansas legislative changes affecting

Unemployment Insurance …………………………………………...page 6

In This Edition

To access all of the new online information, forms and services that DWS offers

to Arkansas employers, click on the Employers tab at the top of the page. Then

select UI Employers Services from the drop down box.

When setting up your company’s new DWS Online Account, create a group

email address for your profile. This will insure that someone with your

business will always receive any UI notices from DWS and can respond in a

timely manner.

Online

TIP:

TAX 21 is the online site where employers and/or their tax agents can file the Employer’s Quarterly Contribution and Wage

Report (DWS 209b) and pay the tax due by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Employers can access their account, all client

accounts and maintain those accounts with regard to address changes and terminations. Finally, employers can view and

print their rate statements and access their accounts’ status with regard to report and tax payment compliance.

TAX 21 can be accessed by going to http://dws.arkansas.gov/ and clicking on the Employers tab, then on UI Employer

Services. Click on Online Unemployment Insurance Services portal and select the first login option to begin.

A DWS employer account

and an online user ID are

necessary to get started. If an

Arkansas company has never

registered with DWS, the

employer representative may

register and apply for an

account number from this site.

The left hand column on the

Welcome to Arkansas DWS

Online Unemployment

Insurance Employer Services

page

displays

the links

that will

initiate the

registration

process.

For tax and payment related options, select UI TAX REGISTRATION AND

QUARTERLY REPORTING/Tax 21.

After logging into the Tax 21 system, four menu options relating to a

company’s unemployment insurance tax account will appear.

Option One: Quarterly Wage and Tax Reporting—From this menu

option, employers may check the status of and file their quarterly wage and tax

reports.

Option Two: EFT Payment Only — Make electronic quarterly tax

payments.

Option Three: Employer Information—From this screen, employers

may view their account information and quarterly reports history.

Option Four: Quarterly Disc Reporting System—The last option

will allow employers to upload their wage report information from most accounting softwares, such as QuickBooks and Peachtree.

Employer Newsletter Spring 2018 page 3 UI Tax Registration & Quarterly Reporting-Tax 21..

Employer Newsletter Spring 2019 page 3 Online UI Employer Services

Only

your

company

representative can make

changes to the UI online

account. If you need to

update your account

just log in and click the

employer profile tab.

There you can change

your notification method

or update a new email

address.

Online

TIP:

The bottom login portal on the Welcome to the Employer UI Online Employer Services page grants access to

several UI employer functions. Once an employer logs in here, they can select any of the six available options.

The first option, the UI 901A Overpayment Wage Response System, a paperless online response system,

enables DWS to quickly identify employees reporting inaccuracies.

If an employee claims unemployment while working for an organization, the employer may be asked to

provide that person’s wages to DWS to determine if that person accurately reported wages.

This option allows employers to respond to requests for wage information in overpayment investigations (DWS

901A).

Select Option 2, the UI Benefit Notice Response System & Shared Work Program, to receive and respond to

Notices to Last and Base Period Employer (DWS 501.3/550), Adjudication Questionnaires (DWS 525), and to

apply for the Shared Work program. Option 2 also allows employers to make changes to their electronic profile,

including the method of receiving these UI notices. All notices are sent by mail unless the notification is changed

to be sent electronically. If electronic transmission is requested, it will require an e-mail address for notification. If

the Both option is selected, the notices will be sent electronically and by mail. Remember, when setting up your

company’s DWS Online Account, creating a group email address for your profile will insure that someone with

your business will always receive any UI notices from DWS and can respond in a timely manner.

Go to the DWS website, and

click on the Employers tab.

Then click on the

Online Unemployment

Insurance Employer

Services portal link. At

the Welcome page, choose

the second login portal.

These six options will display, allowing

employers to access several

Unemployment Insurance services.

Employer Newsletter Spring 2018 page 4 UI 901A Overpayment Wage & Benefit Notice Response Systems

Employer Newsletter Spring 2019 page 4 Online UI Employer Services

You may provide

additional documents

(such as written

warnings or witness statements) by

faxing them to 501 683 1151 or 501 683 1149.

Be sure to include the name and social

security number of the individual to

whom these documents pertain.

Online

TIP:

The bottom login portal on the Welcome to the Employer UI Online Employer Services page grants

access to several UI employer functions. Once an employer logs in here, they can select any of the six

available options.

The first option, the UI 901A Overpayment Wage Response System, a paperless online response sys-

tem, enables DWS to quickly identify employees reporting inaccuracies.

If an employee claims unemployment while working for an organization, the employer may be asked to

provide that person’s wages to DWS to determine if that person accurately reported wages.

This option allows employers to respond to requests for wage information in overpayment investigations

(DWS 901a).

Select Option 2, the UI Benefit Notice Response System & Shared Work Program, to receive and re-

spond to Notices to Last and Base Period Employer (DWS 501.3/550), Adjudication Ques-

tionnaires (DWS 525), and to apply for the Shared Work program.

Option 2 also allows employers to make changes to their electronic profile, including the method of re-

ceiving these UI notices. All notices are sent by mail unless the notification is changed to be sent elec-

tronically. If electronic transmission is requested, it will require an e-mail address for

notification. If the Both option is selected, the notices will be sent electronically and by

The Fraud Investigations, Recoveries and Enforcement (FIRE) Unit is an unemployment insurance claims fraud

investigative unit within ADWS. The mission of the FIRE Unit is to preserve the integrity of the unemployment

insurance program through detection, investigation, prosecution, and enforcement of Arkansas’ unemployment

insurance laws related to the misreporting of earnings by unemployment insurance claimants.

The FIRE Unit has four main goals:

Detect and adjudicate earning issues on unemployment claims

Deter claimants from obtaining benefits through fraudulent means.

Prosecute individuals who have committed egregious

fraud.

Enforce the recovery of an overpayment of benefits.

If an employee claims unemployment benefits while

working, the employer might be asked to provide a

statement of that person’s wages to ADWS to determine

if the person reported those wages accurately and to stop

fraud. An employer’s assistance and cooperation in

detecting and preventing unemployment insurance fraud

will help preserve the integrity of the unemployment

insurance program and ensure that an employer’s UI

contributions account and tax rate are not negatively

impacted.

The requests for weekly wages are called Wage Audit Notices or 901As. The forms are mailed to employers when an

audit reveals the possibility that an employer paid wages to a claimant and the claimant was paid unemployment

insurance benefits in the same quarter. The Wage Audit Notices also are mailed when there is a match between an

active unemployment insurance claim and the National Directory of New Hires. The timely return of the completed

Wage Audit Notices by employers so that the weekly wages can be compared with the wages reported by the

claimant when weekly filing for benefits, plays a critical role in detecting fraud. Detecting fraud as quickly as

possible preserves the integrity of the unemployment insurance program and minimizes employers’ tax rates.

*** Important Reminder***

In order for DWS to complete an accurate investigation, it is vital for an employer to submit the Wage Audit Notices

in the requested format. When providing weekly earnings information for your employee(s), the earnings must be

provided in a Sunday to Saturday format.

Training Opportunity for Employers

In addition to assistance over the telephone,

ADWS personnel are available to provide

training at employers’ business locations on

the use of the online system and how to

correctly submit wages on the 901A forms.

Call 501-682-6155 to setup an appointment.

Employer Newsletter Spring 2018 page 5 Combatting Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Contact DWS

Telephone Number:

1-855-225-4440

501-682-2121

Street Address:

#2 Capitol Mall

Little Rock, AR 72201

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 2981

Little Rock, AR 72203

Email Address:

Employer Newsletter Spring 2019 page 5 Online UI Employer Services

Why use

snailmail …

when you

can sign up

for Online

Employer

Services?

Employer Newsletter Spring 2018 page 5 Combatting Unemployment Insurance Fraud

Employer Newsletter Spring 2019 page 6 Online UI Employer Services

Recent Arkansas legislative changes affecting Unemployment Insurance

Act 512 – effective date of law change January 1, 2020

This act provides for the automatic adjustment of the taxable wage base based on economic factors directly impacting the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The amount of contributions on wages paid to their employees will be determined annually based on the average insured unemployment rate for the most recently completed state fiscal year. Normal economic conditions will typically result in the taxable wage base adjusting every January 1 between $7,000 and $10,000. One of the primary goals of Act 512 is to slow the growth of the UI Trust Fund while easing the tax burden on Arkansas’ employers by reducing the amount of wages for which taxes are due.

Act 453 – effective date of law change October 1, 2019

This bill contains language to provide clarification regarding the definition of the following terms:

o What type of work constitutes “suitable work”;

o The start date of “disqualification”; and

o How a partial week of severance pay is treated.

The key provisions of Act 453 focuses on the reduction of improper payments, particularly with regard to unemployment insurance fraud. Act 453 enhances the penalties for individuals who commit unemployment insurance fraud through the following:

o Greater penalties for individuals who file unemployment claims under false pretenses by increasing the disqualification period from 10 weeks to 20 weeks with any potential benefits due on the fraudulent claim reduced to zero.

o Increases the monetary penalty for fraudulent acts from fifteen percent (15%) to fifty percent (50%).

o Requires individuals who commit fraud to repay all fraudulently obtained benefits plus penalty and

interest before being eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits in the future.

o Requires the excess penalty collected from fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to be used by the Department of Workforce Services for the sole purpose of funding activities to prevent, eliminate and reduce fraud in the unemployment insurance system.

Getting Started -

When you log in to your business UI online

account, first enter your user name and

password, then enter your Arkansas UI

Tax Number and your Federal ID Number—both

are 9 digit numbers with no dashes or spaces.

Online

TIP: