Page 10 - The Edge - Summer 2020

RISK MANAGEMENT

BY KEITH OARDE
Unemployment Insurance Advice During the Pandemic

Keith Oarde

The personal toll of the COVID-19 outbreak extends well beyond attending to the UI program process; and (2) maintaining good
illness and loss of life. Many millions of Americans remain documentation.
healthy but have lost their jobs. In some cases these are layoffs
or temporary furloughs. In other cases the jobs are gone for good. The unemployment insurance process can involve numerous forms,
deadlines, due dates, and checkpoints. Tracking and managing
In Arizona, the unemployment insurance numbers paint a all of this — that is, following the standard process — can trip
disheartening picture. According to the Arizona Department of up employers, especially when unemployment claim volume is
Economic Security (DES), during the second week of March high, when employees are offsite and out of their standard work
2020, there were 3,844 initial claims for unemployment insurance routines, etc.
and 17,595 continuing claims. These figures indicated a generally

strong, healthy employment situation. A mere seven weeks later, On most claims, though, there will be two critical mileposts to
however, during the week of May 2 (the most recent for which which you need to pay particular attention.
data are available at this writing), the numbers had deteriorated
badly. Initial unemployment claims had rocketed to 43,087, and
continuing claims had jumped to 283,864.

Unemployment insurance figures are expected to remain at
unprecedented levels for some time. This is not just because of the
swift, sharp economic downturn. It’s also because both the federal
government and the state of Arizona have taken steps to make
unemployment compensation more generous and more readily
available.

At the federal level, this includes an increase in the weekly benefit

(amount and period), and assistance targeted to those specifically The first is receipt of the Notice to Employer, Form UB-110.

affected by the COVID situation who would otherwise be You’ll receive this notice when a former employee has filed an

ineligible for benefits. In Arizona, the Legislature passed and the unemployment insurance claim, and DES is requesting information
governor signed legislation that waived: (1) the waiting period for from you. If you want to be sure your rights are preserved in

a claimant to receive unemployment insurance benefits; and (2) the claim determination process, you need to respond within 10
the requirement that a claimant be able, available, and actively business days of the mail date indicated on the form.
seeking work.
If your response to UB-110 indicates that you protest the payment
of unemployment benefits, there’s a second milepost to watch for:

"Unemployment insurance figures are receipt of Determination of Deputy, Form UB-100. This form
contains DES’s determination as to whether the former employee
expected to remain at unprecedented is eligible for unemployment benefi ts. If you disagree with this

levels for some time." determination, you may file a written appeal within 15 days of
the date of the determination. That appeal will result in a hearing,
which has its own set of requirements and timetables. These also
The long and the short of all of this is that many Arizona school need to be adhered to.
districts have seen, and will continue to see, a noticeable increase
in unemployment insurance claims and a longer duration of claims Effectively responding to eligibility determinations with which you
that are already on the books. disagree brings us to our second topic from above: documentation.
Employers must understand that documentation can often sway the
This makes it more important than ever for districts to follow outcome of the UI claims process. Employers who have retained
proper protocols in managing their unemployment insurance and can produce relevant documentation typically have the best
programs. Here we’ll focus on two essential considerations: (1) opportunity for a fair evaluation of the claim. Such documentation
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10 THE EDGE SUMMER 2020