Key Takeaways:
- The company that will be listed on the claim depends on how wages are reported in the state in which the employee’s wages were reported during the relevant period
- Because states generally impose deadlines on an employer’s time to respond to requests for information, it’s critical that the company reply to Justworks’ inquiries for information as quickly as possible.
- State unemployment insurance benefits departments generally require documentation and explanation for the separation reasons. As such, providing this information to Justworks as quickly as possible greatly helps to expedite the unemployment claims administration process.
- If you receive an unemployment benefits claim, you can send it to Justworks for review, and in certain situations, explained below, you must send such claim to Justworks for handling.
How claims work with Justworks:
Each quarter, employers report employee wage information and remit the corresponding unemployment tax contributions to each employee’s work state. Former employees can then seek unemployment insurance benefits from the state that has received these tax contributions relating to the wages they earned while employed.
When former employees submit applications for unemployment benefits, they’ll have to provide information about their prior employment, and they will submit the application to the state where they physically worked, regardless of where the company is headquartered.
Depending on the state in which the employee worked, they may have to identify either their worksite employer or Justworks as the 'employer of record' for purposes of unemployment benefits claims administration. In certain states, employee wages are reported under Justworks’ account, so Justworks should be indicated as the employer of record for that timeframe. In other states, however, employee wages are reported under the company’s account, so the direct employer should be indicated as the employer of record for that timeframe.
States where Justworks should be indicated as the employer of record:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Maine
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Additionally, in the District of Columbia, payroll is reported and remitted under Justworks’ account, and Justworks should be indicated as the employer of record.
For the above-listed states and the District of Columbia, the ‘employer address’ for employees to use on the unemployment benefits claim form is the following: Justworks Employment Group LLC, P.O. Box 7119, Church Street Station, New York, NY 10008-7119.
States where the direct employer should be indicated as the employer of record:
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Wisconsin
In administering claims for unemployment benefits, the state will use the information provided at the time of separation from Justworks. The state may require additional information related to the claim. In that case, a member of Justworks’ Customer Success team will reach out to you.
Justworks requires information about the claiming employee’s employment and the circumstances of their separation. Employers are required to document and respond in full to Justworks’ questions regarding separated employees who are claiming unemployment benefits.
Separation Types:
We may need you to provide certain documentation depending on how the former employee was separated. Below is a brief summary of what you may be asked to provide:
Voluntary — When an employee informs their supervisor of their resignation.
Involuntary- When a company initiates the separation process of an employee.
Frequently-Asked Questions
Q: What do I have to do if Justworks receives a UI claim from my former employee?
A. Justworks will help to handle UI claims from your former employees on your behalf. However, we will reach out to you gather the needed additional information regarding the separation that can only be provided by the actual worksite employer. Keep in mind that there are specific deadlines for responding to state unemployment agency inquiries. As such, it’s critical that you reply to Justworks inquiries for additional information in a timely manner, so that we are able to respond to claims in a timely manner.
Q: What if I received the UI claim in a PEO-reporting state?
A: Please immediately forward a copy of the UI claim to your Customer Success Manager or Justworks Support, so that we can have our unemployment claims vendor handle the claim.
Q: Since we are now under a PEO, what happens to the tax money previously contributed to our reserve account? Is it forfeited?
A: Each UI claim is administered by the applicable state based on a certain time period, and any benefits awarded are allocated to one or more employers based on the time period during which each employer was employing the claimant.
Generally speaking, states effectively treat the the company and Justworks as two successive employers for purposes of unemployment insurance benefits administration. Any portion of benefits associated with a period during which the company employed a claimant prior to joining Justworks would be charged to the company’s unemployment reserve account, and any portion of unemployment benefits that are associated with a period when the company joined Justworks would be charged to Justworks’ unemployment reserve account. This also means that if a former employee files a claim when the company is on Justworks’ platform, but that employee was never paid through Justworks, the unemployment benefits would be exclusively charged against the company's own unemployment reserve account as applicable. Justworks' unemployment reserve account would not incur any charges.
Q: Why did I receive a claim/notice of charges? Shouldn’t this have been sent to Justworks?
A: In general, any “state account” that paid wages to any employee up to 18 months prior to the last day worked is considered a “chargeable” employer by the state for purposes of unemployment benefits administration. If the employee was hired prior to the company joining Justworks, claims/charges for unemployment benefits will be sent to the employer of record at that time of employment. All claims/charges to Justworks’ unemployment reserve account are sent to our unemployment insurance vendor.
Disclaimer
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.