WHAT KIND OF COMPANY IS INDUSTRIAL U.I.?
Industrial U.I., third-party administrators specializing in unemployment insurance cost control, started business in 1968 and now represents hundreds of employers throughout the country. Industrial U.I. represents its clients in all matters pertaining to unemployment insurance. Clients range from home health care providers, financial institutions, manufacturing companies, and temporary employment agencies along with non-profit organizations like hospitals, nursing homes, school districts, governmental agencies, and museums.
WHAT SERVICES ARE OFFERED BY INDUSTRIAL U.I.?
Industrial U.I. believes that the only way to properly control unemployment costs is to manage the process at every level. Industrial U.I. gets involved with the UI claim at its inception, representing its clients before state departments of labor and at unemployment hearings in most states. The company also conducts comprehensive training sessions to inform management on the UI process to ensure that every person is aware of their role. Industrial U.I. also consults on its clients’ unemployment tax rate to validate it is correct and determine if a voluntary contribution would be beneficial.
HOW DOES INDUSTRIAL U.I. COMMUNICATE WITH ITS CLIENTS?
As third-party administrators, each client of Industrial U.I. is assigned an individual account representative who will get to know the company and the primary contacts at the company. That representative is a trained professional who can deal with the client’s needs on a daily basis. Industrial U.I.’s principals have over 50 years of combined experience in this field. Both are involved in the daily operations of the company and are available to all clients. Timely reports are sent to clients who also have access to their records on Industrial U.I.’s confidential client website.
ONCE A CLAIMANT FILES FOR BENEFITS, IS THERE ANY WAY TO STOP THAT CLAIMANT FROM COLLECTING AGAINST MY ACCOUNT?
Assuming that the person is otherwise eligible to collect (no misconduct or the person did not quit without good cause) then you can offer that person a job for which he/she is reasonably suited through training and experience.
If the person is not otherwise eligible (i.e., was discharged due to misconduct or quit without good cause), then the employer needs to respond to the UI claim in a timely fashion and send as much supporting documentation as possible to the state agency.
WHEN CAN AN EMPLOYEE QUIT AND COLLECT UI BENEFITS?
The answer to this question differs from state to state. For example, in many states the quit must be “with good cause attributable to the work” while in others the quit must be “with good cause” which means that the good cause does not have to be work related. Whichever definition the state maintains, the employee will have to prove a compelling reason to quit and that he/she took the steps a reasonably prudent person would take prior to resigning to protect his/her job.
WHAT IS MISCONDUCT?
Misconduct is a term that generally means “willful disregard for the employer’s best interest” or, in other words, “the person knew what they were doing was wrong, yet chose to do it anyway.” Each state has a different working definition of employee wrongdoing, and has different penalties for claimants who are found guilty of it. The employer has the responsibility of proving misconduct.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I RESPOND TO A STATE INQUIRY IN AN UNTIMELY MANNER?
Most states provide a very short window to respond to an UI claim, usually around ten days from date of mailing or 48 hours from a phone inquiry. If an employer does not respond in a timely manner, the state may rule based only on what the claimant has asserted.
If the employer subsequently responds and the claimant is eventually disqualified, the employer will not receive a credit for benefits paid out to the claimant. That happens only if the state determines those benefits would not have been paid had the employer responded in a timely manner. Delayed responses can result in thousands of dollars in unwarranted unemployment insurance charges, which will increase unemployment tax rates or quarterly charges unnecessarily. Industrial U.I. does everything possible to assure that state inquiries are answered completely and timely to avoid this problem.
HOW IS AN UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE TAX RATE CALCULATED?
Each state does it differently. The basic formula is:
Old balance in account (at end of prior fiscal year) plus contributions (tax rate times taxable payroll during year) minus benefit charges paid during year equals new balance in account (at end of current year) divided by average taxable payroll equals account percentage.
The state applies the company’s account percentage against the current year’s tax chart to arrive at the current year’s unemployment tax rate. Most states then apply extra taxes (which go by many names) to come up with a total tax rate each company is responsible to pay.
CAN A PERSON WHO IS NOT CAPABLE OF WORKING COLLECT UI BENEFITS?
No. A person must be ready, willing, and able to work in order to collect UI benefits. Unemployment insurance is not to be confused with disability, worker’s compensation, or welfare. It is intended for people who are in between jobs and were separated from their most recent jobs through no fault of their own.
