MAINE – Paid Family Medical Leave Program Begins in 2026
Maine became the 13th state to establish a Paid Family Medical Leave program. The program, slated to begin in 2026, will provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of paid time off for family or medical reasons. This includes illness, caring for a relative, or the birth of a child. The rulemaking process will begin in October of this year and contributions to the program will begin on January 1, 2025. Benefits will first be available on May 1, 2026. We will continue to monitor the rulemaking process and will post updates as the details of the program become available.
NORTH CAROLINA – New Unemployment Tax System to Launch in the Fall
North Carolina has been working on an update to their State Unemployment Insurance Tax System (SUITS) and are expected to launch the new system in the fall. To prepare for the new launch, NC is urging employers log in to their current account to ensure that all contact information is up to date. As the launch of the new site draws closer, we will pass along any information on training or steps to log in to the new NC SUITS system.
OREGON – Weekly Benefit Amounts Increase
Benefits paid out on new claims filed on or after July 2, 2023, will be paid using updated weekly benefit amounts. The minimum weekly benefit amount increased to $190, and the maximum weekly benefit increased to $812 per week. This will increase the average claim liability on Oregon claims.
TENNESSEE – Fraud Reminders
Recently we have identified that there has been increased fraudulent claim activity in Tennessee. In the cases that we have been seeing, the claims that are being received are for individuals who have not worked for the employer they are filing against. This is just another reminder that if you receive a claim for someone who is still working or for an individual that you cannot identify, please report this to your Claims Analyst so we can report the claim as a possible identity theft claim. We will track this in our system to ensure that the claim is protested and benefit charges for the fraudulent claim are not charged to your account.
If the individual does work for you, please provide them with the information they need to protect their identity. The steps an individual should take are available in our Knowledgebase at https://support.thomas-and-company.com/hc/en-us/articles/360063688893-Identity-Theft-Fraud-Recommended-Actions. This information is downloadable in both English and Spanish. The employee should also report the claim as potential fraud and a listing of state by state contacts is available in our Knowledgebase at https://support.thomas-and-company.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059003794-UI-Claimant-Fraud-Contacts.
