Turnover is part of the life cycle of a business and cannot be avoided. When it happens, ripples of stress can affect an entire business as everyone feels the loss of a worker and potentially a friend. Depending on why a person was let go, that stress might only be the beginning if they choose to file for unemployment benefits.

Specifically, unemployment insurance claims reached their highest levels in years at the end of 2017, showing more and more people are filing after being let go. While many of these are legitimate, there are certain instances you need to protest an unemployment insurance claim.

Understand the System

Before you consider protesting anything, it’s crucial to understand the system you’re dealing with. To contest a claim, you have to be quick and not procrastinate any of the paperwork, taking all the necessary time to do it well. Staying on the ball will give you your best chance at success.

Part of understanding unemployment insurance is recognizing there are some cases you cannot protest, and that’s OK. That’s the reason you pay into SUTA and FUTA each year, so your former employees are covered. If the employee left due to layoffs, downsizing, or for personal reasons regarding their work, those cases are legitimate.

Perhaps you fired someone because of misconduct and then they come to the state asking for unemployment benefits. In this instance, you can protest because they were dismissed due to their negligent, inappropriate or dangerous actions. The difficulty comes from varying definitions of ‘misconduct,’ so be prepared to explain why it was considered wrong at your company.

Track All Claims

Paying attention to all the unemployment insurance claims filed against your company can seem time-consuming and potentially problematic. Human error plays a major role, and it’s possible you’ll miss something that becomes a crucial element in a claim. To make your life easier and avoid being in the 12 percent that overpay claims, consider using a specialized tracking software designed to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

Try a Demo of Unemployment Tracker Today

At Unemployment Tracker, we make it easy for you to make sure you’re keeping up with all the claims and understand all the processes. Our customizable interface allows you to make it personal, so who you want involved sees what you want to see. Demo our cloud-based software today and see how we can improve your business.