FAQ


Frequently Asked Questions
	Why should a company try to control its unemployment tax rates?
	What kinds of dollars are involved with unemployment taxes?
	Don't claimants just get awarded benefits no matter what?
	What should I do to protect my business from unwarranted claims?
	Why should my company use a third party administrator like Personnel Planners?
	What makes us different from other firms?
	Who pays for unemployment insurance benefits?
	Can former employees collect unemployment benefits if they quit or are fired for misconduct?

Why should a company try to control its unemployment tax rates?
	Unemployment taxes are an experience rated payroll tax. A company can have a higher or lower tax rate. Blocking unwarranted claims over time lowers or controls your company's unemployment tax rate.
What kinds of dollars are involved with unemployment taxes?
	In most states, a company's unemployment tax rate is applied against the first $10,500(or so) of each employees wages. In Illinois, for example, in past years, the lowest rate that can be applied is 1.2% and the highest is 9.8%. In a 90 person company, the likely taxable wages are one million dollars. The unemployment tax for this company may vary between $12,000.00 and $98,000.00. In past years, a single claim has an average cost to a company of between four and six thousand dollars. For 2009 the cost of an average claim is much higher!
Don't claimants just get awarded benefits no matter what?
	No. Claimants are automatically awarded benefits if they are laid off or they lose their job through no fault of their own. But, if a claimant is fired for misconduct or quits for personal reasons, the claimant may be denied unemployment benefits. A company should be active in this process.
What should I do to protect my business from unwarranted claims?
	An employer should protest claims, appeal decisions that award benefits to administrative hearings, attend hearings, audit quarterly charge statements and monitor its tax rate. It should also be sure to use the misconduct standard in its terminations, and it should document all disciplinary actions and quits.
Why should my company use a third party administrator like Personnel Planners?
	The answer is determined by the cost effectiveness of the third party and the quality of the administrative work they provide. First, the average awarded unemployment claim costs an employer between four and six thousand dollars. The average employer with 100 employees would pay Personnel Planners between $1,100-$1,500 per year. So, if the third party administrator wins one additional claim per year, the service is more than cost-effective. Secondly, a third party provider such as Personnel Planners will do a better and more thorough job of handling claims than your staff will. Regarding initial claim protests, our claims staff, which consists entirely of paralegals, knows how to report employee separations to the local unemployment offices. This maximizes your chances of winning. When hearings occur, our staff provides representation which often makes the employer's case more clear and compelling. We know how to make further appeals. We audit unemployment charges each quarter, often finding administrative errors on the part of the unemployment agencies. This can save thousands of dollars by itself. Finally, we provide training and advice. The advice often prevents employers from making costly mistakes regarding their employment practices from an unemployment cost control point of view. And you get a third-party, reasonable person view of your disciplinary actions. We don't go on vacation, we are always available to do the work, and this prevents claims from falling between the cracks.
What makes us different from other firms?
	You should choose us for several reasons. First, we focus on providing a personal service to our clients. Second, unlike most companies in our industry, the entire claims staff at Personnel Planners consists of paralegals who are experienced in the area of unemployment administration. Third, our hearing section is extremely experienced. Our clients get the benefit of knowledgeable hearing representatives who know what questions the referees are likely to ask. Fourth, while we operate with a strict sense of integrity, knowing that claimants are out of work, we nonetheless are relatively aggressive towards claims and claimants. We appropriately handle each claim that comes into our office. We are not quick to view a claim as not protestable. We conduct additional reviews of cases before they go to hearing in order to better screen out claims that should not be pursued. We apply an even stricter standard to making further appeals beyond the hearing stage to the review board. Our aggressiveness and thoroughness should recommend us as a choice for you.
Who pays for unemployment insurance benefits?
	Employers pay 100% of all benefits paid to claimants.
Can former employees collect unemployment benefits if they quit or are fired for misconduct?
	In most cases, employees who quit for reasons not attributable to the employer are denied unemployment benefits. In most cases, employees fired for willful wrongdoing or misconduct are denied benefits. But the employer must make the case that the wrongdoing was willful, violated known or reasonable rules, was something the person knew not to do, and was serious or could have produced harm to the employer. Incompetence is not misconduct and employees fired for performance reasons may collect benefits. People fired for misconduct should not.