Unemployment Reimburser Relief and Billing Overview

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration issued UIPL 18-20, offering states with guidance for implementing emergency unemployment relief.

State guidance details released for emergency unemployment relief

On April 27, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration issued Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 18-20.  This UIPL provides states with guidance for implementing the emergency unemployment relief for state and local governmental entities, certain nonprofit organizations and Federally-recognized Indian Tribes in Section 2103 of the CARES Act of 2020.

Pursuant to Section 2103 of the CARES Act, entities who have elected a reimbursing finance method for their Unemployment Insurance (UI) program will receive a federal reimbursement of one-half (50%) of UI charges incurred as a result of the pandemic.  

Per the UIPL 18-20, state UI agencies will bill these entities for the entire amount of charges (100%)  incurred during the period of March 13, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

To be eligible for reimbursement, employers must pay their bill in full in accordance with established state-specific processes. 

Upon payment from the reimbursing employer of the amount owed in lieu of contributions, the state may reimburse the employer for up to one-half (50%) of the amount of UI benefits paid by the state to the claimant for charges attributable to service with the employer.

As stated in the federal guidance, on a monthly basis, transfers in the amount of one-half (50%) of these charges will be made from the United State Treasury to the states’ accounts. The state UI agencies will subsequently return the funds to these respective employers. The processes for this final transfer rests with each state’s UI agency and are not available as of this writing.

So far several states have elected to provide total relief of charges (100%) to their reimbursing employers. State-level relief directives for these states will supersede the one-half (50%) found in the CARES Act. Currently, those states are: 

  • Alabama
  • Georgia
  • Iowa
  • Louisiana
  • Michigan
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • New Hampshire
  • New Mexico
  • North Carolina

For more information, please visit our COVID-19 unemployment resource site for employers. This site is continually updated and  includes a state-by-state summary of COVID-19 related changes to UC guidelines, plus more.  Should you have any questions or need assistance with your UC claims, Equifax customers may reach out to their Unemployment Insurance Consultant or Account Manager. Or you can contact a member of our Unemployment Solutions Sales team for additional information.

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