Unemployment

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The Kansas Department of Labor (KSDOL), Division of Unemployment Insurance recently posted a notification on its site informing employers of an upcoming technology enhancement. The current Employer Services portal will be made unavailable starting Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at 5 pm central time.  It will reopen Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at 8 am central time. The Kansas Unemployment Insurance Technology Enhancement Project The Unemployment Insurance Technology Enhancement (UITE) project is a multi-year initiative which focuses on delivering a transformational unemployment insurance experience to businesses and workers of Kansas. In a press release, Governor Laura Kelly stated that access to unemployment benefits has depended on an outdated computer system that caused problems during the Great Recession and pandemic for residents. The purpose of the enhancement project is to provide a more seamless experience to Kansas employers and the workforce. The new system is intended to provide a number of improvements: Streamlining operations through improved workflow efficiency and adaptability, data management, and collaborations with other agencies; Enhancing user experience through adoption of advanced customer relationship[ management systems and personalized communication channels, more self-service options, and improved mobile-friendly access for claimants; and Upgrading data security and compliance with enhanced cybersecurity measures to safeguard data and ensure regulatory compliance. IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR EMPLOYERS On November 19, 2024, there will be a new online account setup functionality available to employers. All active employers are required to establish a username and password to access the new portal.  If you had login credentials in the prior portal, they can be reused in the new. They will not automatically be carried forward, however.  Employers will maintain their current state unemployment insurance account number, but going forward, it will be in a 10-digit format, with on zero (0) at the beginning and three zeroes (000) at the end.  Even if an employer works with a Third-Party Administrator (TPA), KS DOL recommends establishing an online account. This will ensure constant access to correspondence or account information.  Employers may have multiple authorized users as part of the Unemployment Services for Employers set up process. The timeline below was included in the announcement on the KS DOL, Division of Unemployment Insurance site. It represents an overview of the transition and when to expect an impact on workflow. Please make certain any staff who currently utilizes the state’s portal is aware of these changes and that new usernames are established on the appropriate timeframe. For additional information about this change, please visit the KSDOL site. 

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Unemployment benefits are designed to help workers temporarily overcome difficulties caused by a loss of employment that came about due to no fault of their own. Some people find themselves with reduced hours or are only able to find part-time employment, while others work as farmers, gardeners, tourism workers, fishermen, or in retail with their services only required during certain peak seasons. A key to managing employer tax costs is understanding seasonal and part-time workers' unemployment benefits eligibility.  As seasonal and part-time workers typically work less over the course of a year, they are more likely to experience financial instability, yet they are not eligible for certain benefits that are available to full-time employees. However, in some situations, they may qualify for unemployment benefits, which can help improve their financial situations significantly during the off-season or before they find a full-time job.  Unemployment tax rates for employers vary from state to state, but the more claims filed and paid against a business’s unemployment tax account, the higher their unemployment tax rate. Employers can reduce unemployment tax costs by properly categorizing employees as seasonal and part-time workers. Eligibility for unemployment benefits may change depending on this and can financially impact an organization.  Summary  Seasonal workers are employees hired for a specific season or standard of time during the year, and are hired knowing their employment term has a specific duration.  A part-time worker is an employee who performs tasks on a reduced schedule compared to full-time staff. The IRS defines a full-time worker as an employee who works at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month.  Eligibility for unemployment benefits for part-time and seasonal workers varies by state but typically depends on factors like employment duration, employee earnings and the circumstances surrounding the separation from employment.  Employers can control unemployment tax costs by only hiring qualified employees for each position, monitoring unemployment insurance claims, and reviewing the employment information of each claimant to ensure it’s accurate.  Differences Between Seasonal and Part-Time Workers  As the name implies, seasonal workers are hired for a specific season or a standard time period during the year when an employer needs additional bandwidth to meet their production demands. Although these individuals are hired knowing their job is for a specific duration, this does not prohibit them from filing and potentially drawing unemployment benefits.  While there is no standard definition of part-time employment, typically, a part-time employee is a worker who performs tasks on a reduced schedule compared to full-time employees. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define what is considered a part-time employee or what constitutes part-time hours. On the other hand, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) acknowledges a full-time employee as someone who works an average of at least 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month. Part-time employees are those who work less than 30 hours per week or 130 hours per month. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), part-time workers work between one and 34 hours per week, meaning that people who work over 34 hours a week are full-time employees.  While the federal definitions of seasonal and part-time workers apply consistently across all states when it comes to receiving federal unemployment benefits, it’s important to note that state definitions for seasonal and part-time workers may differ when it comes to eligibility for state unemployment insurance, highlighting the importance of staying current on the latest state-by-state unemployment benefits regulations. Unemployment Benefits Eligibility  State unemployment insurance laws generally do not disqualify individuals based on their classification as seasonal and part-time workers. Eligibility for unemployment compensation is based on several factors, including the duration of employment, the employee’s earnings in their base period, and the circumstances that led to the separation from employment or reduction in hours. If seasonal or part-time workers lose work through no fault of their own and there is simply no more work for them, they may be eligible for benefits, and the employer may or may not be chargeable.  The requirements that seasonal workers must meet in order to qualify for unemployment benefits vary from one state to another. However, seasonal workers must meet the requirements of their states for wages earned and time worked during a certain length of time, which is typically the first four of the previous five calendar quarters before they file their claims. This means their employment duration directly impacts their eligibility for unemployment benefits.  States also consider the reasons for unemployment when deciding whether to pay unemployment benefits to seasonal workers. At the end of a seasonal worker’s job assignment, the unemployment agencies consider it a lack of work situation in the same manner as a full-time employee who has been laid off. While they are eligible for unemployment benefits based on their reason for separation, they also must be able and available for work, and actively seeking further employment.  State guidelines for part-time workers also vary. For example, in Georgia, workers who have lost a full-time job, but are working part-time and earn less than their weekly benefit amount are eligible. Workers who have lost a part-time job or whose hours were reduced may also qualify to collect unemployment. On the other hand, Texas’ weekly unemployment insurance benefit amount is 1/25th of an employee’s earnings in the highest quarter of their base period, capping out at 47.6%, which can result in a weekly benefit range of $73 to $577.  Most states provide partial benefits to individuals whose work hours have been reduced through no fault or choice of their own or employees who have lost their full-time jobs and have partially replaced the lost income with one or more part-time jobs. State-Specific Guidelines and Their Impact When looking at unemployment benefits for part-time workers, it’s crucial to understand the state-by-state unemployment benefits guidelines. As stated, each state has its own guidelines that need to be followed in order to receive UI benefits. California, for example, calculates its weekly benefit amount using a benefits chart based on your earnings in the highest quarter of the previous four quarters. With that, the weekly benefit amount for an unemployed worker in California is $40 and maxes out at $450. Additionally, unemployed Californians who collect income while receiving unemployment benefits will have either $25 or 1/4th of their earnings, whichever is greater, disregarded. New York, on the other hand, calculated weekly benefit amounts by taking between 1/25th and 1/26th of an individual’s earnings in the highest quarter of their base period. New York’s weekly benefits range falls between $104 per week to $504 per week, and if income is collected while receiving unemployment benefits, New York state will disregard none. Unemployment insurance in Illinois is also different. The weekly benefit amount for eligible employees is calculated by taking the sum of earnings in the two quarters of their base period when they earned the most, taking 47% of that total, and dividing the result by 26. For unemployed Illinoisans, the maximum weekly benefit they can collect is $484 per week. Whether you’re an employer or employee, understanding state-by-state unemployment benefits requirements is crucial to ensuring you’re adhering to compliance guidelines and receiving the full amount you’re eligible for. You can review unemployment benefits by state here. Controlling Unemployment Tax Costs  There are many reasons employers hire seasonal and part-time workers instead of full-time workers. For example, hiring seasonal and part-time workers can reduce the cost of paying full-time salaries and other expenses, alleviate workforce stress by getting extra help, fill positions that don’t require a full-time worker and serve as a test to see if employers want to hire the employee full time.  However, if employers decide to hire seasonal and part-time workers, they must examine each state's unemployment compensation law and determine the eligibility requirements or any specific exclusions from benefits for these workers.  The best way for employers to reduce unemployment tax costs is to hire only those employees whom they really need and who are qualified for the job. Also, they should monitor all unemployment insurance claims, review the employment of each claimant and ensure the proper information relating to their employment is provided to the state agency. They should also be prepared to contest any claims they believe to be improper. Given that this takes a lot of time and effort, employers can outsource managing unemployment claims. For example, correctly understanding seasonal and part-time workers unemployment benefits eligibility is important but takes additional knowledge for varying state guidelines. With the necessary expertise and resources, they can ensure responses and forms are completed on time, and efficiently deal with unemployment claims from the very beginning to effectively reduce unemployment tax costs. At Experian Employer Services, our unemployment cost and claims management services help to reduce the risk, cost, and burden of managing unemployment claims and remaining compliant. Contact us today to book a demo and see how you can recover overpayments, receive hearings representation, and remain compliant with regulatory changes. 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When determining eligibility for unemployment benefits, state unemployment agencies use the information provided by both employers and claimants. Without proper documentation, agencies will typically determine in favor of the claimant. To prevent this from happening and ensure favorable results when contesting unemployment claims, employers have to track every type of policy violation and be able to prove the claimant was aware of the policy. The employer needs to show that the claimant was warned of prior incidents and knew that their job was in jeopardy before the separation occurred. The most effective way to achieve this is the proper implementation of a progressive discipline policy. Definition of a Progressive Discipline Policy A progressive discipline policy is a multi-step process outlining discipline standards for employers to follow, thus helping them to establish structure and predictability to the discipline process and properly document disciplinary actions. It helps employers avoid legal claims and improve employees’ performance with the help of carefully determined steps for overcoming problems related to employees’ conduct or performance that is not meeting a company’s defined standards and policies. Using such a system can be instrumental in resolving work-related issues, such as employment discrimination and wrongful discharge, but also in reducing the number of unemployment claims. Now that you understand the definition of progressive discipline let’s dive into the reasons why a progressive disciplinary process is important in the workplace. The primary goal outlined in the definition of progressive discipline is to improve the performance or behavior of employees through a gradual disciplinary process to ensure the standards of an organization are met. Implementing a progressive disciplinary process is crucial for several reasons, including:  Fairness and consistency: First and foremost, having an established progressive disciplinary process ensures fairness and consistency across the board. With progressive discipline, you can ensure all employees are treated fairly when it comes to addressing conduct, behavioral or performance-related issues. That’s because progressive discipline is a standardized process used to handle such situations, and employees should be aware of the consequences related to these types of issues.  Clear expectations: Having an established progressive disciplinary process also helps set clear expectations for employees. With consequences and expectations clearly defined, you can help prevent the occurrence of misunderstandings, as a progressive disciplinary process creates a transparent framework for performance and behavioral standards.  Improvement opportunities: Progressive discipline allows employees to improve by addressing their behavior or performance and working on it over time. Rather than severing ties the moment an employee makes a mistake, displays poor performance or a behavioral issue through punitive actions, you allow them to grow and succeed in their roles while improving professionally and personally.  Legal protection: With a documented and clearly stated progressive disciplinary process accessible to all employees, you can ensure legal protection over your organization. A well-established policy demonstrates an organization’s commitment to fairness when addressing performance or conduct issues while ensuring this policy is indiscriminate and consistent.  A progressive disciplinary policy is important for numerous reasons, highlighting the importance of having a strong policy to ensure employees understand their expectations and businesses remain protected.  Progressive Discipline Policy Steps The aim is to provide the structure on which employers may rely to provide consistent discipline. For a typical discipline policy, an employee receives a verbal warning followed by written warnings before termination occurs. Therefore, the policy should include: Verbal warning; First written warning; Second written warning; and Termination. However, a well-developed progressive discipline policy should be adapted to the needs of the specific employer and allow them the freedom to modify the steps when necessary but also provide the general structure that should be used for most discipline decisions. Implementing a Policy Proper implementation can be a critical element affecting the process of contesting unemployment claims. During unemployment hearings, a judge may want to know whether a claimant was aware of their misconduct and whether they were given clear warnings as well as room to correct their behavior. For this reason, employers should properly implement their policy, be uniformly consistent in administering it and use it as a solid foundation during unemployment hearings. Related: State Required Separation Notices Taking this into consideration, it is important to provide warnings to employees at the earliest opportunity after a violation is conducted and keep the incident fresh for whoever is preparing the warning. If too much time passes, the state unemployment office may question why action was not taken sooner. In addition to this, warnings given to employees should be simple and specific and describe the exact behavior related to a particular policy violation instead of listing every minor dissatisfaction. Also, it is equally important that employers explain what policy prompted the warning, why is a written warning the appropriate response, and what may happen if similar future infractions occur. For a progressive discipline policy to be effective, it should be clear who was present when it was implemented including whether the claimant acknowledged the warnings given. At the same time, to handle an unemployment hearing successfully, it may be useful to have an additional witness. Furthermore, employers with multiple supervisors or managers face the possibility that they may have different ideas about how and when to discipline employees, possibly leading to harmful consequences. However, having a progressive discipline policy in place can help resolve this and ensure that managers and supervisors not only follow the established policies but follow them uniformly to avoid the payment of unemployment benefits to employees who clearly did not follow the company’s established policies. Moreover, such an approach can also help prevent different groups of employees from feeling mistreated or unfairly managed. How Does Progressive Discipline Benefit the Company and Employees?  There are several key benefits of an established progressive disciplinary process for employers and employees. First, let’s dive into the numerous advantages companies can enjoy when implementing a progressive discipline policy:  Cost savings: As an employer, protecting your bottom line is always a top priority. Recruiting and onboarding is a significant cost that can chip away at your profits, which is why having a low turnover rate is crucial. Progressive discipline allows employers to address and resolve issues before they escalate, which can help avoid the costs associated with turnover, recruitment and training. Investing in the development of your current staff is typically more cost-effective than finding and onboarding new talent.  Employee accountability: Your progressive disciplinary process can be a great way to hold your team accountable for their actions and performance. By knowing there are consequences for poor performance or misconduct, employees will be encouraged to work to the best of their ability while behaving appropriately in the workplace.  Performance improvement: Continuing with the accountability employees feel when knowing a progressive discipline policy is in place, this policy helps hold staff to a higher standard, leading to improved productivity and better performance. It also allows employers to correct performance issues early on to ensure employees are productive and efficient.  Communication: Progressive disciplinary processes also open a secure line of communication between employers and employees, where supervisors and their direct reports can work together through coaching or professional development to improve in their roles.  While employers can reap many benefits of a progressive disciplinary process, so can employees. Some of the advantages staff can enjoy when working for an employer with a progressive discipline policy include:  Fair treatment: Employees working at an organization with a progressive discipline policy can appreciate a fair and transparent disciplinary process that’s consistent among all employees. Understanding that everyone within an organization is held to the same standards can help promote transparency and respect within the workplace.  Clear communication: A progressive disciplinary process helps to facilitate a clear line of communication between employees and management, as feedback can be provided in a structured manner that allows employees to understand where they can improve and the steps to take to get there.  Opportunity for improvement: A progressive disciplinary policy allows employees to improve from their mistakes to grow personally and professionally. This constructive approach promotes a growth mindset rather than resulting in immediate termination.  Impact on Workplace Morale  A progressive disciplinary process can profoundly impact workplace morale and how employees feel about showing up to work each day, and the workplace environment in which they operate. A progressive disciplinary process promotes and maintains a positive work environment. The structured and fair approach of a progressive discipline policy allows employees to feel secure in their roles, knowing any behavioral or performance issues will be addressed fairly and constructively for each employee.  A fair and consistent progressive disciplinary process can also help alleviate any feelings of fear or anxiety that employees might have. When employees know issues will be addressed progressively with the intention of improvement, they can have peace of mind knowing their job isn’t on the line if they make a mistake, have a performance issue or have a behavioral action occur. In turn, workplace morale is stronger and more positive as fear and anxiety associated with potential disciplinary actions are reduced.  Finally, an organization that instills a progressive disciplinary process can maintain strong employee morale, as it helps to promote a growth mindset focused on continuous improvement of performance and behaviors. In organizations where workplace issues go unchecked, an employee may continue an action or behavior that impacts the workplace environment. Through progressive discipline, issues can be addressed at the forefront and be used as a preventative measure to ensure morale remains high.  Reducing Unemployment Costs with a Progressive Discipline Policy Every employer may face unemployment claims but having a progressive discipline policy in place can help them reduce their unemployment tax liability. The key for an employer is being able to prove that they outlined expected standards and possible consequences of misconduct and that they issued enough warnings before terminating the employee. Also, when determining if an employer has discriminated against an employee, state unemployment agencies investigating the claim will look at how the employer treated employees who engaged in the same behavior. With the help of a progressive discipline policy, employers can demonstrate having a pattern and practice of applying the company’s established policies consistently and fairly. To make a progressive discipline policy successful, employers should tailor it to their needs, and make sure that it is applied consistently to all employees. That way it can become an invaluable tool for managing employees as well as for avoiding and defeating unemployment claims. Another approach that can significantly simplify unemployment claims management is the automation of this process. As a result, employers can rely on a team of experienced professionals and a user-friendly platform designed to reduce the risk, cost and burden of managing unemployment claims.

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