Many states now require the employer to provide a notice to their employees when they leave your employment (voluntarily or involuntarily) to provide direct notice to your employees of the availability of unemployment compensation benefits. The list of states is changing often, so for the latest updates, please see the Separation Notice article.
Some states have fines or other penalties that can be applied if an employer does not provide the notification to the employee within the time limits outlined by the state. This could be a monetary fine or loss of rights to appeal the claim decision, so it is important to remain in compliance to mitigate the risks of fines or penalties.
In states that do not require a separation notice, you can provide a letter for your staff to help them determine how to file for unemployment benefits in those states. Include information such as:
- The link to the state site for filing a claim.
- A complete list of State Workforce Agencies and how to file a claim can be found in our Workforce Reduction Guide at https://thomas-and-company.sharefile.com/public/share/web-s2a773d15040e453cb02ced6a43456b87
- A list of what they need to file – claimants will need to provide their full legal name, their social security number or work authorization if they are not a US Citizen/resident.
- Many states are now requiring claimants to authenticate their identifies in an additional step to combat fraudulent claims. Please remind your employees that this step must be completed in order to complete the claim application process. Delays in identity verifications will lead to delays in the claim process.
- Provide the employees with the full company name, (as registered with the state), the state account number and Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) so that state can expedite the verification of employment and wages.
Thomas & Company knows that keeping up to date with the State Separation compliance laws is difficult and time consuming. We are pleased to now offer Offboarding Compliance Services that ensures that your organization remains compliant with state separation laws and reporting. If you would like to learn more about this serve, please reach out to your client relationship manager or a member of our sales team.