Regional

The South Carolina Employment Security Commission announced that unemployment tax rates are not to change for 2021.

Effective January 1, 2021, total tax rates for experience-rated employers not assigned the maximum tax rate are to range from 0.06% to 2.091%. The rates include base rates ranging from 0.00% to 2.031% and an administrative assessment of 0.06%.

The maximum tax rate for experience-rated employers is set at 5.46% for 2021.

The unemployment tax rate for new employers is the rate for experienced employers assigned to Rate Class 12, which is to be 0.55%. The rate includes a base rate of 0.49% and an administrative assessment of 0.06%.

South Carolina’s unemployment-taxable wage base is to remain at $14,000 in 2021, unchanged from 2020.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

The Ohio Department of Job & Family Services announced that unemployment tax rates are set to increase for 2021.

Effective January 1, 2021, the mutualized contribution tax rate is set to be 0.50% and is added to the experience-rated employers’ unemployment tax rates. The mutualized contribution tax rate, which was not in effect for 2020, will trigger on because unemployment benefits related to the COVID-19 pandemic were charged to the mutualized account instead of the individual employers.

Total unemployment tax rates for experience-rated employers are to range from 0.80% to 7.30% for positive-rated employers and from 7.40% to 9.80% for negative-rated employers. This is an increase from 2020 rates which ranged from 0.30% to 9.40%.

The total unemployment tax rate for delinquent experienced employers for 2021 is to be 12.30%, up from 11.80% in 2020.

The new-employer tax rate is to be 2.70% for 2021, unchanged from 2020. New employers in the construction industry are to be assessed a rate of 5.80% in 2021, also unchanged from 2020.

Ohio’s unemployment taxable wage base will remain at $9,000 for 2021.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

As a result of legislation signed October 28, 2020 by Governor John Bel Edwards, Louisiana’s unemployment taxable wage base will not change for 2021.

Under the measure (S.B. 55), the unemployment taxable wage base is to remain at $7,700, effective January 1, 2021. This is because Procedure 2 is to be in effect for 2021 regardless of the balance of the state’s trust fund.

Procedure 2 generally is in effect for a year when the estimated trust fund balance for September 1st of that year is at least $750 million and less than $1.15 billion. The Louisiana Workforce Commission expects the trust fund balance to be less than $750 million, which would trigger Procedure 1 and a wage base of $8,500, according to SB 55’s fiscal note.

The measure also sets a maximum weekly unemployment benefit of $247 for 2021.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

The Delaware Department of Labor announced today that the unemployment taxable wage base for 2021 will be $16,500, effective January 1, 2021. This is unchanged from 2020.

Unemployment tax rates for 2021 have not yet been finalized but should be released in December 2020.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

The Connecticut Department of Labor announced that unemployment tax rates are not to change for 2021.

Effective January 1, 2021, unemployment tax rates for experienced employers are to range from 1.90% to 6.80%. The rates are to include a fund-solvency surtax of 1.40%. The tax rate for new-employers is set to be 3.00% for 2021, a decrease from 3.20% in 2020.

Connecticut’s unemployment-taxable wage base is to remain at $15,000 in 2021, unchanged from 2020.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

The California Employment Development Department announced that unemployment tax rates are not to change for 2021.

Effective January 1, 2021, unemployment tax rates for experienced employers are to be determined with Schedule F+. As a result, tax rates for experience-rated employers will continue to range from 1.50% to 6.20%. Similarly, tax rates for new-employers in California will remain at 3.40% for 2021.

Additionally, positive-rated employers and new-employers are to be assessed an employment training tax of 0.10% for 2021, also unchanged from 2020.

California’s unemployment-taxable wage base is to remain at $7,000 in 2021, unchanged from 2020.

The lack of changes leaves industry experts asking why the EDD isn’t being more proactive. California continues to have the lowest taxable wage base in the country even though it is one of the highest average wage states in the union. Couple that with the very large Title XII loan balance (as of today’s writing, the balance is $14.5 billion and rising), and one could ask why the EDD doesn’t index the taxable wage base to average wages to increase the solvency of the state trust fund and eliminate a future increase in federal unemployment taxes for 2022.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

The Kansas Department of Labor announced that unemployment tax rates are set to increase for 2021.

Effective January 1, 2021, tax rates are to range from 0.20% to 5.40% for positive-rated employers and from 5.60% to 7.60% for negative-rated employers.

Additionally, the standard tax rate for new employers is to be 2.70% and the tax rate for new construction employers is to be 6.00%, unchanged from 2020.

For 2021, a solvency adjustment is not to be in effect. This in and of itself will contribute to higher rates for employers because it is a departure from 2020 where a solvency adjustment was in effect and reduced unemployment tax rates by 0.50%.

The unemployment-taxable wage base for 2021 is to remain at $14,000, unchanged from 2020.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services announced today that the unemployment taxable wage base is set to rise to $10,000 in 2021, up from $7,000 in 2020.

Unemployment tax rates for experienced employers are to range from 0.30% to 6.20% in 2021, and the maximum tax rate for negative-rated employers assessed an additional contribution is to be 14.20%. These rates include a solvency surtax of 0.20% and are unchanged from 2020.

The tax rate for new employers in 2021 is to be 3.10%, unchanged from 2020.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development announced that unemployment tax rates are not to change for 2021.

Effective January 1, 2021, unemployment tax rates for experienced employers are to be determined with Schedule D, unchanged from 2020. For experienced employers with a taxable payroll of less than $500,000 over the 12-month period ended June 30, 2020, rates are to range from zero to 12%. For employers with taxable payroll of at least $500,000, rates are to range from 0.05% to 12%. These rates include a solvency surtax.

For 2021, the standard tax rate for new employers with taxable payroll of less than $500,000 is to be 3.05%, and the rate for those with taxable payroll of at least $500,000 is to be 3.25%, unchanged from 2020.

For new construction employers with taxable payroll of less than $500,000, the unemployment tax rate is to be 2.90% for 2021, down from 3.30% in 2020. For those with taxable payroll of at least $500,000, the tax rate is to be 3.10%, down from 3.45%.

Wisconsin’s unemployment-taxable wage base is to be $14,000 in 2021, unchanged from 2020.

As always, if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our website at www.thomas-and-company.com.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced that Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is available to individuals whose employment was impacted by Hurricane Sally. The state is accepting DUA applications from individuals in Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties. Impacted individuals in these designated-disaster areas must file DUA applications by November 6, 2020.

Individuals can apply for DUA if they are ineligible to receive federal or state benefits and if the individual:

• Is unemployed as a direct result of the major disaster
• Was scheduled to start employment but was unable to as a direct result of the major disaster
• Is unable to reach their job or self-employment location because the individual must travel through an affected area and is prevented from doing so as a direct result of the major disaster
• Has become the primary breadwinner because the head of the household died as a direct result of the major disaster
• Is unable to work because of an injury that was a direct result of the major disaster.

However, please be aware that applications filed after the deadline will be considered untimely and the state may deny DUA benefits unless the individual provides good cause for a late application. Individuals must submit their Social Security number, check stubs, and documentation as evidence that they were working, or were self-employed, when the disaster occurred. All required or requested documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the date of the DUA application.

DUA will be available for weeks of unemployment beginning September 20, 2020, until March 27, 2021. An individual’s unemployment must be a direct result of the disaster to continue to receive benefits. Any individual who currently receives state benefits, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits will not be eligible for DUA.

Individuals can file for DUA online at www.FloridaJobs.org or by phone at 1-800-385-3920. Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:30am to 6:30pm EST or 6:30am to 5:30pm CST. For more DUA claim information, please call 1-833-FL-APPLY (1-833-352-7759) and choose the speak to an agent option to speak to a customer service representative. Click here to find information on how to apply for DUA and Frequently Asked Questions.