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.
Employer Updates
- Individuals not returning to work when work is available or do not show good cause in refusing an offer of work could potentially be disqualified from receiving Reemployment Assistance benefits. This also applies to the federal benefit programs authorized under the CARES Act and Continued Assistance Act.
- If a prospective employee refuses an offer to work, employers can report this refusal to work through the Reemployment Assistance Help Center.
- Florida’s reemployment tax rate computation for 2021 was recently revised as a result of a new law. For more information, click here.
- The Florida Department of Revenue will also be providing revised RT-20s to employers. The Department of Revenue has begun mailing the revised RT-20's to contributory employers. The Tax Information Publication (TIP) about the Reemployment Tax changes can be found online, here.
- The due date for payment of reemployment tax for the quarter that ended March 31, 2021, has been extended to May 31, 2021. This extension applies only to the payment; to be considered timely, employers must complete and file the Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6) no later than April 30, 2021.
- DEO has developed additional guides for employers to better understand how to navigate the CONNECT system. To view these guides, click here.