How do claims raise my rate?

In most states, benefits paid on a chargeable claim are charged to your account, and that experience sets your rate. Depending on the state, the formula looks back three years or over your account's whole history, so one bad year can raise your rate for several years.

Is the tax rate the whole cost?

No. The rate is what arrives on a notice. Responding to claims, gathering documents and attending hearings cost staff time, and a high claim volume often points to recruiting, retention or management problems. (Nonprofits and government employers that elect to reimburse the state pay benefits dollar for dollar instead of a rate.)

What could managing claims save?

It depends on your states, your separations and your claim history, and the free analysis puts a number on it. Because each chargeable claim counts against your rate for several years in most states, every claim prevented keeps paying off.

What is the Unemployment Performance Cost Analysis?

A free, no-obligation review by Equifax Workforce Solutions: where your SUI tax could come down, penalty rate risks and rating strategies you may have missed, how you compare across states and industries, and process improvements. Most of the inputs are already in your Worklio payroll: your SUI rates and the quarterly wage and contribution reports Worklio has filed for you. Equifax asks only for your latest state rate notices and any earlier reports. Findings arrive in 10 to 14 business days, followed by a review with the Equifax team. You decide after you see the numbers.

Who answers claims and attends hearings?

People at Equifax Workforce Solutions respond to the state on your behalf, with your authorization, and represent you at hearings. You supply the facts of each separation and any first-hand witnesses. A state adjudicator decides every claim, so no one can promise the outcome.

PLATFORM / PAYROLL CORE / Unemployment cost management

Unemployment tax is a cost you can manage.

Equifax Workforce Solutions audits your state rate notices, answers unemployment claims by the deadline with your authorization, and represents you at hearings, working from the payroll data Worklio already files.

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DELIVERED BY: Equifax Workforce Solutions
DATA: Worklio payroll reports plus your rate notices
FREE ANALYSIS: Findings in 10 to 14 business days
REPORTING: Every quarter

WHAT'S INCLUDED

01
Rate notice audits
Every state rate notice reviewed for improper charges and missing credits, and errors disputed before the deadline.
02
Claim responses
Each claim notice answered by its deadline, with the facts of the separation you supply.
03
Hearings and appeals
A prepared file and a representative at any appeal hearing, with your authorization. A further appeal when the odds and the savings justify it.
04
Charge audits and reporting
Benefit charges checked for payments made after a claimant was found ineligible, or while working, and a quarterly report of rate trend, chargeable claim rate, claim success rate, and cost per claim.
05
Rate strategies
Voluntary contributions where a state allows them, and joint accounts for entities in one state, each modeled before you decide.
06
Mergers and reorganizations
The rate impact studied before a deal under each state's successor rules, with successor filings and transfers between entities reported.

WHERE IT GOES WRONG

Claims follow you for years.
Each chargeable claim stays in your experience rating for years, so one bad year can raise your rate for several.
How Worklio handles it
Equifax reviews every state rate notice for improper charges and missing credits, and disputes them before the deadline.
Claim notices with no owner.
You can contest a claim when someone quits without good cause or is discharged for misconduct. Many employers never do: the notice arrives with a short deadline and nobody's name on it, payroll comes first, and the cost gets written off as part of doing business.
How Worklio handles it
Equifax answers each claim notice by its deadline with the facts of the separation, represents you at hearings with your authorization, and reports the results every quarter.
Every state has its own rules.
Rates, the SUI taxable wage base, response deadlines, and what counts as chargeable all differ by state.
How Worklio handles it
Most of what Equifax needs is already in your Worklio payroll: the quarterly wage and contribution reports Worklio has filed for you in every state where you have employees. Equifax asks only for your latest state rate notices.
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WHO BENEFITS MOST

01Over 100 employees. Enough separations each year for claims to move your rate.
02High-turnover industries. Construction, staffing, hospitality, and healthcare pay more on average.
03Multi-entity groups. Entities in one state may share experience, where the state allows it.
04Recent acquisitions or restructuring. A deal in the last two years can change your rate under successor rules.

WORK IT OUT

Calculators follow federal rules only; state law can differ.

QUESTIONS

State unemployment insurance (SUI, also called SUTA) averages about $350 per employee per year (U.S. BLS, Monthly Labor Review, 2020). High-turnover industries such as construction, staffing, hospitality, and healthcare often pay more. Each state sets your rate every year from its own schedule, and the range differs widely by state (see the SUI rates table). Your own rate depends on your claim history, and new employers pay the state's new-employer rate.

Sources: U.S. BLS, Monthly Labor Review, 2020. General information, not legal or tax advice.

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HOW IT WORKS

Every claim, in five steps.

01Claim filed. The state asks you for the separation information.
02Answer by the deadline. Specific facts, not a summary: for a discharge, the rule, the evidence, and any prior warnings.
03Eligibility and charges. Depending on the state, a quit without good cause or a discharge for documented misconduct may not be charged to you.
04Appeal and hearing. If either side appeals the determination, with your authorization: a prepared file, a representative, and first-hand witnesses.
05Further appeal, if it pays. The odds and the savings weighed against the effort.