It’s the beginning of a new year, a new beginning. It’s never that easy with unemployment. At CCC, we frequently receive distress calls from our clients questioning why they are receiving claims or worse yet, unemployment charges for a long forgotten employee.
Every state unemployment agency utilizes a Base Period to determine:
- Which claimants qualify for unemployment
- The amount of benefits a claimant can potentially collect
- Which employers may be “chargeable” for benefits received by qualifying claimants
These determinations are based on the wages and hours employers report to state unemployment agencies for their employees quarterly, throughout the year.
At CCC, we’ve developed an easy to use chart to help you understand a Base Period. When a former employee files for unemployment, the state unemployment agency does not consider the hours or wages in the current quarter or typically the recently completed quarter. We say typically because, in many states, the agency can look at an “alternative” Base Period if the claimant does not have qualifying wages or hours in the four quarters that are normally used.
Below is an example of the Base Period for any claimant filing for benefits anytime during the 1st quarter of 2015. All employers who reported wages and hours between the 4th quarter of 2013 and the 3rd quarter of 2014 would potentially receive charges for that person. This means an employee can leave your organization and you may be hit with unemployment charges 18 months later! Ouch!
Still, have questions? Please contact CCC at (800) 207-6926 or email us at info@corporatecostcontrol.com.
