Reemployment Assistance Update
Reemployment Assistance Update
The Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, which pays Reemployment Assistance benefits to eligible unemployed workers, is funded by Reemployment taxes paid by employers. There are two types of employers, contributory and reimbursing. Contributory employers may be relieved of benefit charges associated with COVID-19. This means that Reemployment Assistance benefits that former employees receive because they were separated from work as a direct result of COVID-19 may not be used in computing the employer’s future Reemployment tax rate. This exception also applies to contributory employers who are participating in the Short-Time Compensation Program, but the exception does not apply to reimbursing employers. Contributory employers will receive a Notice of Benefits Paid (Form RT-1) and reimbursing employers will receive a Reimbursement Invoice (Form RT-29) on a quarterly basis, which shows the debits and credits to the employer’s account for benefits paid to their former employees. Contributory employers should follow the protest instructions contained within Form RT-1 if they disagree with the charges. Even though contributory employers may be relieved of charges for employment separations that were a direct result of COVID-19, they still need to respond to the Notice of Claim.