FAQs


back to top

Q. Why should I process my unemployment claims?

A. Claims are based on reason for separation, and if your employee is found eligible for benefits, the benefits they receive are paid by your firm. More importantly, the recently passed UI Integrity Act now requires that all claims, irrespective of separation reason, be answered timely and accurately or no relief from chargeability may be granted even if you win the claim, and additional monetary penalties may be levied if the Agency detects a continuing pattern of this type.

back to top

Q. Are there specific types of unemployment claims that are more important than others?

A. Yes – An “initial” claim, when you are named as last employer prior to filing for benefits. Your separation reason determines whether the claimant is eligible for benefits. Also, “base period” claims, as they are also protestable and tell you what your claim liability is. Other claim types are: reopened claims, additional claims, and transitional claims. Reopened claims generally follow a reopening of an existing claim following a period of inactivity, but without any additional employment. Additional claims usually follow a period of employment that comes to an end, thus creating a new “last” employer, and transitional claims are infrequent but are usually new claims that follow the expiration of a prior claim without any break in benefit payment.

back to top

Q. How does claim liability work?

A. The amount of wages you paid in the last 12-18 months preceding the claim dictates how much the claimant will draw in benefits and what percentage of those benefits will be paid by you. A formula determines your liability in relationship to any other employer paying wages in that same time frame, remembering that some States use a different formula than others to determine what that time frame will be.

back to top

Q. How do claims affect my Unemployment Insurance tax rate?

A. Your rate is determined by comparing your UI tax dollars in your UI account to an actuarial table – the more money in your account, the lower your rate. However, the more payout of dollars on claims, the smaller the amount in your account and the higher the State makes your rate to make up for your reduced tax account.

back to top

Q. Should I check benefit charge statements? Sometimes they have a lot of names on them.

A. Auditing charges is critical. The Department of Labor verifies a 12% error factor by State agencies in assessing charges to employers. Verify the liability shown on your base period claims against the charge statements received to insure no overpayment takes place.

back to top

Q. When I get claim decisions that are not in my company’s favor, what should I do?

A. There is, in most States, a two level appeal system available if employers are not happy with the outcome of a decision regarding eligibility. Employers may appeal to an Administrative Law Judge/Referee, and following that decision, may appeal to a Board of Review if still aggrieved.

back to top

Q. May I also appeal benefit charges I don’t think are proper, or is there another way to protest liability being charged to my account?

A. You may protest charges just as you would a claim determination. You may also appeal the decision rendered regarding benefit charges. The process is identical to claim processing.

back to top

Q. What happens to my employees’ wages that are accumulated and sent to the agency every quarter? Does the State do something with them?

A. All wage detail sent to the State agencies is maintained in their computers to use if/when a claim is filed. The claimant’s social security number is used to find the wages reported in the last 18 months, as noted in Q/A #3, so a calculation of both weekly benefit amount and liability to the employer may be completed.

back to top

Q. Is Us4U responsible for the content I upload or create in the software application or the outcome of any protest made?

A. Us4U does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the services provided in respect of its correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise. if this exclusion is not permitted by law, us4u limits any express, statutory or implied warranties as to duration to the extent of this limited warranty and the repair or replacement remedy as determined by us4u in its sole discretion.

back to top

Q. UI Integrity – What it is?

A. Unemployment insurance agencies have been frustrated for years by the fact that UI benefits have been paid erroneously to claimants based on what was perceived to be bureaucratic incompetence. These overpayments amounted to billions of dollars annually. However, more detailed examination of the problem disclosed that a large portion of these costs actually came from claims overturned at an appeals level after initially being found payable, the result of poor employer separation data. To address this problem, legislation was enacted effective October 2013 to make the employer community more responsible for accurate and timely claim responses by imposing penalties, both monetary and administrative.

back to top

Q. UI Integrity – How it affects employers?

A. Employers must now not only respond in a timely fashion to protestable claims (quits and terminations for cause), with sufficient detail regarding the nature of the separation, they must also respond to all claims, irrespective of the nature of the separation. This means that lack of work claims, previously not required to answer much less protest, will now require a response. Failure to meet these requirements will be examined by the Agencies to see if a “pattern” exists, and, if so, employers can incur the following;

1. Loss of relief from charge for benefits paid up to the point of overturning the decision, even if you win the claim at a later appeal level;
2. Loss of appeal rights in some States;
3. Monetary penalties in some States that can be as much as $10-11,000.

A “pattern” is not yet defined in all States, but can be as little as one or two occasions before these penalties are imposed.

CONCLUSION

Employers must simply pay attention and focus on every claim, not just those that they find to be the most egregious. The UI Integrity law has bite in it, and failure to pay attention can cost employers a great deal of money.

Membership Details – General FAQ’s

back to top

Q. How does the subscription work??

A. Term - The Subscription begins at the time the Subscriber’s Subscription is activated by US4U (other than on a trial basis) and thereafter continues in effect for a period of 12 months.

back to top

Q. What is the billing cycle?

A. Client will be billed on an annual basis for subscription chosen. Should the subscription claim volume exceed the subscription chosen, the client will have the option to upgrade their subscription or pay on a per claim basis. In the event the client chooses to pay per claim, the billing will occur on a monthly basis.

back to top

Q. What is the refund policy?

A. Subscription Fees are non-refundable if Subscriber cancels or the Subscription is terminated without cause.

back to top

Q. Can I upgrade my subscription?

A. Client may upgrade their subscription at any point during the 12 month subscription period. If an upgrade is chosen during the subscription period, the Client will have 2 options; retain current subscription period and pay difference between initial subscription fee paid and upgraded subscription price or Client may opt to renew subscription period for 12 months from date of upgrade and pay the full cost of upgrade fee.

System\Data FAQ’s

back to top

Q. What is the cost to get my data returned to me?

A. Us4U will process and return data stored up to 7GB within 30 days from cancelation. The client will incur an additional $250.00 to recapture this data.

back to top

Q. What is the maintenance schedule?

A. Us4U may perform routine or emergency fixes or upgrades. US4U shall use commercially reasonably efforts to notify Subscribers of anticipated material disruptions in the Services and shall make commercially reasonable efforts to schedule such activities at non-peak user hours.