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SECTION 9:  BENEFITS ELIGIBILITY and CHARGING

What separations qualify claimants to receive benefits?
Benefits are allowed if a claimant is:

· Laid off due to lack of work
· Laid off at the end of a temporary job
· Quit for work related reasons, or
· Is discharged for reasons other than misconduct – To be considered misconduct, the individual must have control over the situation and the behavior must have an adverse affect on the business interests.

           Misconduct is an intentional disregard for the interests of the employer.
            Inability to perform the job is not considered misconduct.

What are re-qualifying wages?
If the claimant is disqualified due to a quit for personal reasons, or discharged for misconduct, they can earn re-qualifying wages to end the disqualification.  For a quit issue, the claimant has to earn six times their weekly benefit amount after the date of the separation.  For a discharge issue, the claimant must earn eight times their weekly benefit amount after the date of the separation. The disqualification is ended, not removed, when the re-qualification wages are earned.  If disqualification is ended, your account may be charged for benefits paid after the ending date of the disqualification.

How is fact-finding done?
If a quit or discharge has occurred within 42 days of the filing of the unemployment claim, a decision will be issued regarding the separation, and the employer involved will receive a copy of that decision.  Quit and discharge issues are investigated by the Customer Service Representatives.  They will contact your business to obtain specific separation information for each claim.  We appreciate prompt return of the requested information to allow for timely decisions. A decision will be made on a quit/discharge on the last employer, regardless of the length of time since the separation.

You can return information to:
Unemployment Insurance Division
PO Box 8020
Helena MT  59604-8020  
Fax:  (406) 444-2699

What can employers do to help insure a fair determination?
Follow good personnel practices, such as:

How does job/union attached status benefit an employer?

Job-attachment allows an employer to retain qualified employees who are temporarily laid off and willing to return to their employ once work is again available for them.   It also allows a claimant with a new offer of employment to discontinue seeking other work pending the start date of the new employment.  The employer is required to verify they intend to hire/rehire the worker.  Verification is done via telephone or mail.

A claimant can be “job attached” when the employer has verified the claimant has a definite or approximate date of hire or return to insured work at which the worker will be regularly scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week.  The claimant is not required to register for work or make a weekly work search while job attached.  If the verification is done by mail, the form must be returned within 28 days or the claimant will be required to register for work with Workforce Services and seek work.

Union-attachment exempts the work search requirement of unemployment insurance for claimants who are on the “out-of-work” list with a union that operates an exclusive hiring hall as the union performs this activity on the claimant’s behalf.  Verification of a worker’s union-attached status is required.  Staff from Unemployment Insurance will attempt to obtain union-attached verification via telephone or corresponding with the union business agent.  If the form is not returned within 28 days, the claimant will be required to register for work with their local Workforce Center and independently seek work.

Benefits paid for the time a claimant is job or union-attached will be charged to your account if you are determined to be a chargeable employer.  The longer a claimant is out of work or on reduced hours, the more charges accrue.  If the rehire arrangement changes at any point, the employer should contact the Unemployment Insurance Division.  

What happens if a claimant refuses a job offer?
If a claimant refuses a bona fide job offer (offer is made directly to the claimant by a person authorized to hire) a decision will be made by the department to determine if the refusal will be disqualifying.  The department considers such factors as:

If a claimant refuses suitable work without good cause, the claimant is disqualified to receive benefits. The disqualification can be ended when the claimant has earned six times their weekly benefit amount.  The maximum benefit amount is reduced by six times the claimant’s weekly benefit amount.

When are notices of Potential Benefit Charge sent?
These notices are sent to all experience rated employers who paid wages to the claimant in the base period (see chart).  All employers in the base period are potentially chargeable based on the percentage of their wages to the total base period wages.

Example:The total base period wages are $24,000.  ABC Company paid $12,000 of that total.  ABC Company is potentially chargeable for 50% of any benefits paid.
 
When are charges for experience rated employers relieved?
The Notice of Potential Benefit Charge is returned in a timely manner by the employer, and:

* Montana Law does not allow us to relieve charges for employers who hire temporary or seasonal employees, if the claimant completed the temporary or seasonal assignment.

How charging determinations differ from non-monetary determinations:

Remember:  Employer charging determinations are based on the last separation prior to the claim effective date.  If a claimant quits for personal reasons, the employer rehires them for a temporary period, and then a claim is filed, the employer will be charged based on the temporary, last period of employment.

How do non-monetary decisions affect charges?

When are Statements of Benefits Paid sent?
Statements are sent out quarterly by the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Bureau and show the charges to your account for the quarter indicated.

Example:Charges for the months of January, February, & March will be mailed in April.

Credit amounts will show with a minus sign (–). These amounts have been credited back to your account.

Can I have UI benefit charge notices or other benefit forms sent to a different address from the address used for my Tax notices?
Yes.  To have the benefit notices sent to an alternate address, send a written request, signed by an authorized representative, to:  PO Box 8020, Helena MT  59604-8020.  Also, promptly notify us of any changes in your mailing addresses.

What does the UI Division do to detect benefit overpayments and claimant fraud?
Each quarter we:

If you have reason to believe a claimant is receiving benefits they aren’t entitled to receive, please contact the Claims Investigation Unit at (406) 444-3783.

What information is required for reporting tips on potential claimant fraud?

What is a Claims Investigation Audit?
The purpose of the audit is to assure that claimants have reported their hours worked and gross earnings correctly during the time they were collecting benefits.  This audit also protects the employer and the UI trust fund from claimants collecting benefits they are not entitled to receive.

The Claims Investigation Audit Request is performed each quarter.  This audit is a random selection of claimants that have drawn benefits during the same time period in which one or more employers have reported wages.

The audit forms are computer generated and sent to employers.  Employers are asked to complete the hours worked and gross earnings for each calendar week during a time period indicated on the audit form.  The information from the completed audit forms is input into our cross-match system.  If discrepancies are present, the claimant is notified of the discrepancy.  If the claimant is unable to provide evidence that would disprove the employer report, an overpayment of benefits is established and the claimant is required to repay the overpaid amount.  When an overpayment is established, the chargeable employer’s account is credited accordingly.

If a claimant takes time off work, please list the dates off work and the reason(s). Claimants are not eligible to receive benefits when taking time off work.

Information that is needed for a claims investigation audit:

 

How are overpayments collected?
When a claimant receives benefits they are not entitled to receive, the Overpayment Unit collects the reimbursements.

Employer accounts receive credit as soon as an overpayment is established. 

Claimants repay by:

Claimants who commit fraud:

What is the Privacy Act?
We are governed by the Federal Privacy Act and are required to protect the privacy of both the employer and claimant.  The claimant can be told the wages you have reported under their social security number.  However, no specific information regarding your account will be made available to the claimant, another employee, competitor, or curious members of the public. 

This is also true of the claimant’s information.  An employer will be given copies of statements the claimant made concerning a separation from that particular business, as well as a copy of any determination made pertaining to a separation from that employment. 

As a chargeable employer, you will receive a Statement of Benefits Paid for each quarter there are charges or credits to your account. However, we are not able to tell you the claimant’s weekly benefit amount or the specific weeks in which the claimant drew benefits. 

If an accounting firm is handling your UI matters, you will need to contact us to authorize the release of information to them.

How is accuracy and quality measured?
Benefit Accuracy Measurement / Quality Control (BAM/QC) is a management information tool that helps control error and fraud in the state and federal Unemployment Insurance program.  The benefits of the audit are better prevention, detection, and collection of improper payments.

Unemployment Insurance claimants are randomly selected for a complete review of their claim.  A member of the BAM/QC staff will contact that claimant’s employers to verify payroll and separation information.

Based on the investigation, a determination is made as to whether the claim for the week was paid or denied properly or improperly.  If a claim is paid or denied improperly, it is then determined whether the claimant, agency, or the employer made the error.  Finally, the reason for the improper payment is documented and the claim corrected.

Other Quality Reviews:
The Department is also subject to many federal, state and department reviews that are done quarterly to insure the laws and policies are being applied appropriately.

These agency programs benefit employers because better detection and collection of improper unemployment insurance payments may result in reduced costs and may have a favorable impact on employer taxes.  Also, these programs are intended to reduce improper payments in the future by deterring future unemployment claimants from submitting inaccurate information on the claim application.

 

Table of Contents | Introduction | Registration | New Employer Info
Reportable Wages & Employment | Employer Tax Rates
Payments & Reports | Misc. Questions | Penalties
Electronic Filing & Payments | Electronic Media Reporting
Benefits Eligibility and Charging | Important Phone Numbers
Printable PDF Handbook | Downloadable Forms
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