Well, its that time of year again – when employers across the country get their UI Tax Rate notices and promptly go into “Sticker Shock” looking at the increased rate (and increased costs).  Getting your tax rate notice is a bit like getting a root canal – you can’t avoid it and it is extremely unpleasant and painful.  So, now that you know your tax rate increased and your unemployment costs are going to be higher, what should you be doing so you can break the cycle and not go through this again next January?  The following are some suggestions:

• Develop an Unemployment Cost Management Program – if you don’t already have one, put one into place.  If you already have a cost management program in place, improve it.  This program involves putting policies and processes into place to identify claims that should not be paid and effectively protest them, identify credits that you should receive and go get them, and catch errors and correct them before they cost you more.
• Utilize a UI Cost Management Software – if you have more than 100 claims/year then tracking and auditing your UI claims, protests, and charges is more time consuming than it needs to be (and once you reach 500 claims or more annually, it is impossible to manage effectively without a software).
• Audit Your Claims and Protests – identify claims you should have protested, protests you should have won. and credits you did not receive and use that information to improve your processes.
• Audit Your Employee Handbook – this handbook can be your best friend or your biggest headache.  Ensure that your policies are in line with employment law and also with unemployment law in your state (if you are a multi-state employer, you may need versions of your handbook for each state).
• Learn More About How the UI System in Your State Works – not knowing how things work will only make you lose protests and pay higher UI Tax Rates.  Contact UI Tracker for more information about training opportunities!

These are just a few of the areas in which you should focus your efforts to lower your UI tax rate and save tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in UI costs.