The process of processing unemployment for former employees can be a daunting task, here is some information to explain the process

It is inevitable that employers will receive an unemployment claim from at least a few former employees.  The first documents you will receive are from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, are a “Request for Job-Separation Information” and a “Notice of Unemployment Insurance Claim, Wages Reported, and Potential Charges.”

The “Notice of Unemployment Insurance Claim…” document is usually a white colored document that lists the quarterly earnings for the employee who is filing for unemployment, and all the employer needs to do is verify the earnings are correct.

The Request for Job Separation Information is usually a yellow colored document and is used as employment verification, as well as a statement to why the employee is no longer working for the employer. It is the employers’ duty to make sure this form is filled out correctly. The form will ask the former employee’s date of hire, the last day worked, the rate of pay, and the reason why the employee is no longer working. The form will also ask payroll questions, such as, did the claimant receive wages in lieu of notice, was vacation paid out upon termination, was there a severance allowance?

On the back side of the form is more elaboration to the question of why the employee is no longer working. If the employers marks that the employee quit or was discharged, the back side of the document is used to explain the incident that led to the employee’s resignation or discharge.

The most important section of the Job Separation Information document is the date in the upper right hand corner that states when the form must be received by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Employers can fax or mail the document to the department, but if they turn it in after the specified date, the information will be ignored unless the employer can provide a valid reason of why the form was not turned in on time.

After the Request for Job-Separation Information document is turned in to the department, a deputy of the Division of Employment and Training will make a decision to either deny or grant an award of unemployment benefits to the claimant.

After submitting the Request for Job-Separation Information, what comes next?

After turning in the Request for Job-Separation Information document to the Colorado Department of Labor, you will soon receive a notice of decision document.

The notice of Decision states whether the claimant is entitled to benefits. In the upper right hand corner- the document will state whether the employer is chargeable or nonchargeable. If the employer is Chargeable, it means the Colorado Department of Labor deputy finds that the claimant is not responsible for the separation and entitled to collect benefits. If the employer is found nonchargeable, the deputy has determined that the claimant is responsible for the separation and not entitled to collect benefits.

If you, the employer, is found Chargeable for unemployment benefits and disagree with this decision, you have the right to appeal the decision. On the back of the document, is an explanation of Appeal Rights. The document states that the notice of Decision is final unless a written appeal is received no later than 20 calendar days from the date when the decision was mailed (you can find that date on the front side of the document in the upper right hand corner). The document also asks for further information regarding the employee-employer information, including the claimant’s Social Security number, if the employer will be represented at the hearing by a lawyer, union-business agent, etc. You will also need to specify that it is the employer who is filing the appeal and write why you disagree with decision. Be as specific as you can.

The most important thing to keep in mind is the due date of the appeal. It is 20 calendar days, not business days, from when the decision was mailed, not from when you receive it.

After submitting the Request for Job-Separation Information, what comes next?

After turning in the Request for Job-Separation Information document to the Colorado Department of Labor, you will soon receive a notice of decision document.

The notice of Decision states whether the claimant is entitled to benefits. In the upper right hand corner- the document will state whether the employer is chargeable or nonchargeable. If the employer is Chargeable, it means the Colorado Department of Labor deputy finds that the claimant is not responsible for the separation and entitled to collect benefits. If the employer is found nonchargeable, the deputy has determined that the claimant is responsible for the separation and not entitled to collect benefits.

If you, the employer, is found Chargeable for unemployment benefits and disagree with this decision, you have the right to appeal the decision. On the back of the document, is an explanation of Appeal Rights. The document states that the notice of Decision is final unless a written appeal is received no later than 20 calendar days from the date when the decision was mailed (you can find that date on the front side of the document in the upper right hand corner). The document also asks for further information regarding the employee-employer information, including the claimant’s Social Security number, if the employer will be represented at the hearing by a lawyer, union-business agent, etc. You will also need to specify that it is the employer who is filing the appeal and write why you disagree with decision. Be as specific as you can.

The most important thing to keep in mind is the due date of the appeal. It is 20 calendar days, not business days, from when the decision was mailed, not from when you receive it.

If calling the unemployment office to report an unemployment claim be patient it could take hours.

While speaking with a friend the other night that was laid off from EDS and who is now just recently eligible to collect unemployment, told me about a simple online mistake that took hours to fix.  Each week the Colorado Department of Labor & Employments unemployment division requires people to report jobs that they are interviewing for or have applied for. During this process she accidentally entered a wrong code and hit next on her screen while working on the Colorado online website. This caused her claim to be denied or cancelled for that week. Each week the DOL sends out benefit checks to those collecting unemployment.  Once she realized her mistake she tried for over an hour to correct it online with no success. After hitting the redial button on the phone for an hour she finally was able to talk to someone. Unfortunately it took another hour before she was able to find a person with the correct authorization to access her account and correct her mistake. 

If filling for unemployment in Colorado be patient and if doing it on a phone line make sure you are not running up your minutes on your cell phone. To file a claim and to learn more about unemployment benefits go to www.coworkforce.com.

See Also

• Colorado workforce
  Labor & Employment home page

Governor Ritter recently vetoed pro-labor bill, HB 09-1170Governor Ritter, on May 19th, 2009, vetoed a bill that would have allowed union workers that are locked out during a labor dispute to collect unemployment benefits.  In Gov. Ritter’s letter explaining his decision, he explains that he did not want to give an advantage to one of the parties currently in a major labor negotiation between the United Food and Commercial Workers and several large grocery store chains here in the Colorado area.  However, Gov. Ritter went on to state that the merits of the bill “are worthy of future discussion and perhaps future legislation”.

See Also

• Press Release - HB 09-1170 Veto Message
  Letter from Gov. Ritter explaining the decision to veto HB 09-1170 bill

If you haven’t already heard, come July, Colorado employers will receive bills from the Division of Unemployment for interest due on borrowed money from the federal government. The first assessment will pay interest for January 2011 through April 2011.  These borrowed funds are those Colorado agreed to pay back to the Federal Government when premiums paid by employers to the Colorado Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund ran dry and were no longer sufficient to pay unemployed workers.

Payment is due within 30 days of the billing date of the business owner’s notification.  Kindly, check or money orders are accepted by the Colorado State Treasurer.  Don’t forget to put your unemployment account number on the payment stub as they need to track compliant business owners.  If you happen to have an unpaid balance on your account, this assessment will take precedent in respect to how your payment is applied.  Any premium penalties, interest or general premiums owed will remain subject to payment. 

If you would like more information regarding this assessment or any other Human Resource program or assistance we provide, please contact us at 303-466-7864.  For the full Department of Labor notice regarding the Federal Interest Repayment assessment, please visit their website.