Updated 9.11 At this time, most states are preparing for an increase in unemployment claims due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however in some cases they have not yet issued specific direction on claims based on disruptions caused by COVID-19. Currently, agencies are considering rule changes that may waive certain claim filing or weekly certification requirements
The National Bureau of Economic Research published an article titled “Analyzing the Aftermath of a Compensation Reduction” exploring reasons why employers are more likely to lay off workers than reduce their compensation. This inclination to lay off workers instead of reducing compensation is referred to as “pay rigidity”. The authors of the article establish two
A new rule was implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor regarding overtime pay on January 1, 2020. After the rule change, 1.3 million more American workers are eligible for overtime pay. The earnings threshold that exempt certain employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s has been raised to $684 per week or $35,568 per
Over the past 14 years, we have experienced changes in technology and legislation, but our customer service focused approach has remained the same. We are thankful for our team of industry veterans and the wonderful customer base as it has grown over the years. As an unemployment claims management industry leader, we are forward thinking
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that there will be a reduction in unemployment tax rates saving businesses an estimated $552 million this year. Effective January 1st, 2020, the 1.1% unemployment tax rate factor has been eliminated, resulting in the lowest unemployment compensation tax rate since 1979. In 2012, Pennsylvania’s federal loans for unemployment insurance were
Currently, 27 states and jurisdictions have updated their taxable wage base for 2020. 15 jurisdictions have changed their minimum unemployment tax rate, and 15 changed their maximum unemployment tax rate. The taxable wage base represents how much of an employee’s yearly earned income is taxable at the employer’s unemployment tax rate. For instance, if an
According to the US Department of Labor, the average unemployment tax cost per employee has decreased six years running. Due to increased claims during the great recession, the average unemployment tax cost per employee rose to $486 in 2012. Since 2012, the unemployment cost per employee has been decreasing each year and was $293 for
For the second year in a row, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S Department of Labor has recovered a record amount of back wages for workers. In 2019, over $322 million in back wages has been recovered for more than 313,000 workers. This averages out to over $1,028 for each worker affected. In
According to a United States Department of Labor News Release, the week ending December 7th has shown the highest number of seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims since September 30th, 2017. The week had 252,000 claims, up from 203,000 during the previous week. This is contrasted to the 50-year lows in national unemployment rates that were