Related BLs programs | Related articles
February 2012, Vol. 135, No. 2
Changes in Federal and State unemployment insurance legislation in 2011
Loryn Lancaster
Loryn Lancaster is an unemployment insurance program specialist in the Division of Legislation, Office of Unemployment Insurance, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Email: lancaster.loryn@dol.gov.
Federal enactments extend benefits and provide federal funding to the states to cover costs, assess penalties for fraud, prohibit certain noncharging of employers’ unemployment accounts, and require reporting of new hires; state enactments include provisions regarding extended benefits, the duration of benefits, tax schedules, and taxable wage bases.
In 2011, the federal government addressed a pair of issues concerning methodological aspects associated with the unemployment rate, as well as discontinuing an important surtax. First, regarding methodology, on June 13, 2011, the Department of Labor published a notice in the Federal Register informing states of the methodology used to calculate the "on" and "off" total unemployment rate indicators to determine when extended-benefit periods begin and end in a state. Also, retroactive to April 16, 2011, the methodology for calculating the 110-percent look-back requirement based on the total unemployment rate is switched from rounding at the fourth decimal place to rounding at the second decimal place. Second, to meet federal requirements, effective July 1, 2011, the 0.2-percent Federal Unemployment Tax Act surtax, originally enacted in 1976 and extended eight times thereafter, was discontinued. The tax had affected most employers.
Changes in Federal and State unemployment insurance legislation in 2010.—Jan. 2011.
Changes in Federal and State unemployment insurance legislation in 2009.—Jan. 2010.Within Monthly Labor Review Online:
Welcome | Current Issue | Index | subscribe | Archives
Exit Monthly Labor Review Online:
BLs Home | Publications & Research Papers
