UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. New York State Department of Labor

Transcription

1 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE New York State Department of Labor

2 Edward J. Delehanty Unemployment Insurance Program Manager NYS Department of Labor Unemployment Insurance Division Telephone Claims Center

3 WHAT IS IT? TEMPORARY INCOME FUNDED BY THE EMPLOYER FOR ELIGIBLE WORKERS WHO BECOME UNEMPLOYED THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN

4 HOW DOES ONE QUALIFY? Must have earnings in at least two calendar quarters Highest quarter must be minimum of $1600 Total Base Period wages must equal 1 ½ times the high quarter wages

5 WHAT IS THE BASE PERIOD? BASIC: THE FIRST FOUR OF THE LAST FIVE COMPLETED CALENDAR QUARTERS PRIOR TO THE CALENDAR QUARTER IN WHICH YOUR CLAIM BEGINS; OR ALTERNATE: THE FIRST FOUR COMPLETED CALENDAR QUARTERS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE CALENDAR QUARTER IN WHICH YOUR CLAIM BEGINS.

6 BASE PERIOD 1Q07 2Q/07 3Q/07 4Q/07 5Q LAG (1Q/08) 1/1/07-3/31/07 $2,000 4/1-6/30/07 $800 7/1-9/30/07 $5,000 10/1-12/31/07 1/1-3/31/08 ALTERNATE OC EFFECTIVE MONDAY, 4/14/08

7 WHAT IS THE RATE? MAXIMUM RATE $405 MINIMUM RATE $ 64

8 HOW IS IT FIGURED? THE RATE IS 1/26th OF THE HIGH QUARTER WAGES TO A MAXIMUM OF $405. $10,530 High Qtr. IF THE HIGH QUARTER IS $3575 OR LESS, THE RATE IS 1/25th OF THE HIGH QUARTER WAGES

9 HOW LONG DOES IT LAST? ALTHOUGH A CLAIM IS OPEN ONE YEAR (THE BENEFIT YEAR), DURING THAT TIME ONE CAN ONLY RECEIVE 26 FULL PAYMENTS OR THEIR EQUIVALENT.

10 HOW DOES ONE QUALIFY FOR WEEKLY PAYMENTS? ONE MUST BE TOTALLY UNEMPLOYED ON ANY DAY ONE RECEIVES BENEFIT CREDIT. ONE MUST BE READY, WILLING, AND ABLE TO WORK. EACH DAY OF WORK OR UNABLE TO WORK REDUCES PAYMENT BY 1/4. ONE MUST BE ACTIVELY SEEKING WORK.

11 VOLUNTARY SEPARATION U.I. Law Section No days of total unemployment shall be deemed to occur after a claimant s voluntary separation without good cause.

12 HOWEVER Voluntary leaving without good cause is not defined in the statute. In general, a claimant must have had a compelling reason for leaving and must have made a reasonably prudent attempt to resolve the problem and protect the employment.

13 MISCONDUCT UI Law Section No days of total unemployment shall be deemed to occur after a claimant lost employment through misconduct in connection with his or her employment.

14 MISCONDUCT CON D Misconduct is not defined in the statute. However, the Court of Appeals, in Matter of James, states misconduct is any volitional act or omission which is detrimental to an employer s interests.

15 NORMALLY NOT MISCONDUCT Mere inefficiency, Inadequate performance resulting from inability or incapability, Inadvertence or ordinary negligence in isolated instances, Good faith errors in judgment

16 HOWEVER, Inefficiency, poor performance, inadvertence or errors in judgment MAY be misconduct if it resulted from gross negligence, indifference or recurrent carelessness.

17 Refusal of employment UI Law Section No days of total unemployment shall be deemed to occur beginning on the day on which a claimant, without good cause, refuses an offer of employment for which he is reasonable fitted by training and experience.

18 Good cause for refusal IS defined in the statute (Section 593.2) No refusal to accept employment shall be deemed without good cause if, would interfere with union membership or violate a collective bargaining agreement, There is a strike, lockout or other industrial controversy in the establishment, The offered work is an unreasonable distance Wages, compensation, hours or conditions offered are substantially less favorable to the claimant than those prevailing for similar work in the locality.

19 PREVAILING WAGE In the Matter of Marsh: refusal is with good cause if the offered wages are more than 10% below a prevailing rate established on the basis of a weighted average of the wages received by the middle 50% of workers in the occupation.

20 DETERMINING THE PREVAILING WAGE HIGH wage: MIDDLE wage: $12.00 per hour $10.00 per hour LOW wage: $ 8.00 per hour A claimant would NOT have good cause to refuse (based on wages) at $9.00 per hour and up.

21 WHAT KIND OF WORK DO I HAVE TO SEEK? SUITABLE WORK IS WORK FOR WHICH YOU ARE REASONABLY FITTED BY TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE. (AND) WORK THAT PAYS WITHIN 10% OF THE PREVAILING WAGE FOR SIMILAR WORK IN THE LOCALITY.

22 WHAT KIND OF WORK DO I HAVE TO SEEK? AFTER RECEIVING 13 WEEKS OF BENEFITS ANYTHING YOU ARE CAPABLE OF DOING AND PAYS AT LEAST 80% OF YOUR BASE PERIOD HIGH QUARTER WAGES. WORK THAT PAYS WITHIN 10% OF THE PREVAILING WAGE FOR SIMILAR WORK IN THE LOCALITY.

23 WHAT ABOUT THE EMPLOYER? FORM LO 400 IS SENT TO EACH EMPLOYER IN THE BASE PERIOD. IT IS A NOTICE OF MONETARY ENTITLEMENT AND POTENTIAL CHARGES. IT IS MADE UP OF TWO SECTIONS PLUS THE HEADING.

24 Part I GIVES THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CLAIM. THE BENEFIT YEAR ENDING DATE. TOTAL BASE PERIOD WAGES. BENEFIT RATE. MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWED. WAGES PAID BY THE EMPLOYER. EMPLOYER S POTENTIAL CHARGES.

25 LO 400 (PART I)

26 Part II AREA TO COMMENT ON ANY REASON KNOWN BY THE EMPLOYER WHY THE CLAIMANT SHOULD NOT BE PAID.( IE. SEPARATION INFORMATION, STRIKE/LOCKOUT, PENSION,DESIGNATED VACATION OR HOLIDAY PAY, OR EMPLOYEE OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION BETWEEN TERMS.

27 LO 400 (PART II)

28 WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE? LO 400 NEEDS TO BE RETURNED IMMEDIATELY ONLY IF THERE ARE CHANGES TO BE MADE IN THE WAGES PAID OR IF YOU FEEL THAT THE CLAIMANT SHOULD NOT BE PAID. IF YOU RETURN THE LO 400, GIVE SPECIFIC REASONS AS TO WHY.

29 HOW DOES AN EMPLOYER RESPOND? FAX REPLY TO (518) OR MAIL TO P.O. BOX ALBANY NY TELEPHONE (888) RECENTLY AN EMPLOYER HOME PAGE WAS ADDED TO OUR WEBSITE

30 FACTFINDING THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR MAKES ALL DETERMINATIONS. DETERMINATIONS ARE MADE ON AVAILABLE INFORMATION. IF ASKED, PLEASE GIVE ACCURATE, SPECIFIC INFORMATION AND ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS. GOOD FACTFINDING =CORRECT DECISIONS.

31 WHAT S S THE USE? YOU PAY EVERYONE!!! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. STATISTICALLY, 60% OF ALL DETERMINATIONS MADE ARE DENIALS. GOOD DETERMINATIONS CAN ONLY BE MADE WHEN THERE HAS BEEN ADEQUATE FACTFINDING NOT ONLY FROM THE EMPLOYER BUT FROM THE CLAIMANT AS WELL.

32 RESULTS CLAIMS WITH NO ISSUES ARE PAID IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CLAIMANT CERTIFIES TO THE FIRST COMPENSABLE WEEK. CLAIMS WITH ISSUES ARE PAID WHEN THE ISSUE IS RESOLVED OR THE CLAIMANT IS ADVISED IN WRITING WHY BENEFITS CAN T BE ALLOWED.

33 WHAT IF I DISAGREE WITH THE OUTCOME? Any party affected by a determination has the right to request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. Law Judge decisions can be appealed. Appeal Board decisions can be taken to the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court.

34 CHARGING OF BENEFITS SECTION (e): EXPERIENCE RATING CHARGE MEANS A DEBIT TO AN EMPLOYER S ACCOUNT REFLECTING A PAYMENT OF BENEFITS. 1) EMPLOYERS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF CHARGES TO THEIR ACCOUNT MONTHLY. 2) THE LAST EMPLOYER WILL BE CHARGED AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO SEVEN TIMES THE CLAIMANT S BENEFIT RATE. THEREAFTER, CHARGES PROPORTIONATE TO WAGES PAID BY ALL BASE PERIOD EMPLOYERS. 3) NO CHARGES TO AN EMPLOYER S ACCOUNT IF THE CLAIMANT SUBSEQUENTLY REQUALIFIES AFTER BEING ISSUED A DISQUALIFICATION FOR VOLUNTARY QUIT WITHOUT GOOD CAUSE OR MISCONDUCT. 4) NO CHARGES TO AN EMPLOYER S ACCOUNT IF EMPLOYMENT PERFORMED BY A CLAIMANT WHO WAS ENROLLED IN A WORK RELEASE PROGRAM OR AS AN INMATE OF A CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION. 5) NO CHARGES TO AN EMPLOYER S ACCOUNT AS LONG AS THE CLAIMANT IS CONTINUOUSLY EMPLOYEED IN THE SAME MANNER.

35 WHAT S S IN OUR FUTURE? VIRTUAL CONTACT CENTERS-(VCC) TWO CURRENT TCC SITES WILL BE LINKED IN ONE SYSTEM. CALLERS ASSIGNED TO THE NEXT AVAILABLE AGENT IN ANY TCC. VCCS WILL OFFER CUSTOMERS CHOICE OF CONTACT METHOD: TELEPHONE, WEB/ , MAIL.

36 DIRECT PAYMENT CARDS ISSUED THROUGH CHASE BANK BEGAN 9/10/06. CLAIMANTS WILL NO LONGER RECEIVE PAPER CHECKS AS UI PAYMENTS. DIRECT DEPOSIT BEGAN IN APRIL 2007 ENABLING CLAIMANTS TO HAVE UI BENEFITS DEPOSITED IN THEIR OWN PERSONAL BANK ACCOUNT.

37 ANY QUESTIONS?