Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service

[From Summary] The Unemployment Compensation (UC) program contains several provisions relevant to current and former military service personnel and their families. The UC program does not provide benefits for military servicemembers on active duty. However, former active duty military personnel (and certain reservists) separated from active duty may be eligible for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX). Spouses of military service personnel who voluntarily quit a job to accompany their spouses on account of a military transfer may be eligible for UC benefits, based on the laws of the state where the civilian spouse was employed. Military service of business owners, employees, and employees\u27 spouses may impact the state unemployment tax rate that certain employers face. States may choose to create provisions that remove or limit these tax increases in certain situations. This report will be updated as events warrant

Unemployment Compensation (Insurance) and Military Service

The Unemployment Compensation (UC) program contains several provisions relevant to current and former military service personnel and their families. The UC program does not provide benefits for military servicemembers on active duty. However, former active duty military personnel (and certain reservists) separated from active duty may be eligible for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX). Spouses of military service personnel who voluntarily quit a job to accompany their spouses on account of a military transfer may be eligible for UC benefits, based on the laws of the state where the civilian spouse was employed. Military service of business owners, employees, and employees’ spouses may impact the state unemployment tax rate that certain employers face. States may choose to create provisions that remove or limit these tax increases in certain situations

Employment Statistics: Differences and Similarities in Job-based and Person-based Employment and Unemployment Estimates

CRS_October_2004_Employment_Statistics.pdf: 1028 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Expediting the Return to Work: Approaches in the Unemployment Compensation Program

[Excerpt] Policy makers and analysts have searched for methods to speed the return to work of unemployment compensation (UC) recipients with varying levels of intensity. The most recent recession led to an unprecedented increase in the number of workers unemployed for more than 26 weeks (the long-term unemployed). As a result, congressional interest in policy initiatives to expedite the return to work grew. This report examines the current initiatives as well as previous demonstration projects within the UC system to reduce long-term unemployment and speed the return to work

Unemployment Insurance: Available Unemployment Benefits and Legislative Activity

[From Summary] A variety of benefits may be available to unemployed workers to provide them with income support during a spell of unemployment. When eligible workers lose their jobs, the Unemployment Compensation (UC) program may provide income support through the payment of UC benefits. Certain groups of workers who lose their jobs on account of international competition may qualify for additional or supplemental income support through Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) programs. UC benefits may be extended at the state level by the Extended Benefit (EB) program if certain economic situations within the state exist. As of this writing, the EB program is not currently triggered on in any state. The EB program for Louisiana triggered off on February 25, 2006. Unemployed Louisiana workers who exhausted their regular UC benefits before February 25, 2006, were eligible for 13 weeks of EB; unemployed Louisiana workers who exhausted their regular UC benefits after February 25, 2006, were not eligible for the EB program. During some economic recessions, Congress has created a federal Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) program. These programs generally have extend UC benefits for an additional 13 weeks and have an expiration date. As of this writing, no TEUC program exists and these benefits are not available

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits are available only to those individuals who have become unemployed as a direct result of a declared major disaster. First created in 1970 through P.L. 91-606, DUA benefits are authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Relief Act (the Stafford Act), which authorizes the President to issue a major disaster declaration after state and local government resources have been overwhelmed by a natural catastrophe or, “regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion in any part of the United States” (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)). The DUA program provides income support to individuals who become unemployed as a direct result of a major disaster and who are not eligible for regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefits. DUA is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is administered by the Department of Labor (DOL) through each state’s UC agency. DUA beneficiaries (because they are not entitled to regular UC) are not eligible to receive Extended Benefits (EB). This report contains information on how to ascertain if an individual is eligible for DUA benefits

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

[Excerpt] Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits are available only to those individuals who have become unemployed as a direct result of a declared major disaster. First created in 1970 through P.L. 91-606, DUA benefits are authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Relief Act (the Stafford Act), which authorizes the President to issue a major disaster declaration after state and local government resources have been overwhelmed by a natural catastrophe or, “regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion in any part of the United States” (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)). The DUA program provides income support to individuals who become unemployed as a direct result of a major disaster and who are not eligible for regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefits. DUA is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is administered by the Department of Labor (DOL) through each state’s UC agency. DUA beneficiaries (because they are not entitled to regular UC) are not eligible to receive Extended Benefits (EB) or Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) benefits. This report contains information on how to ascertain if an individual is eligible for DUA benefits. The report will be updated as events warrant

The Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF): State Insolvency and Federal Loans to States

[Excerpt] During some recessions, current taxes and reserve balances were insufficient to cover state expenditures for unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. UC benefits are an entitlement, and states are legally required to pay benefits even if the state account is insolvent. Some states may borrow funds from the Federal Unemployment Account (FUA) within the Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF) in order to meet UC benefit obligations. The 2009 stimulus package (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111-5 § 2004) temporarily waives interest payments and the accrual of interest on these loans to states from the FUA. This report summarizes how insolvent states may borrow funds from the federal account within the UTF in order to meet their UC benefit obligations. Outstanding loans listed by state may be found at the Department of Labor’s website: http://www.workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/budget.asp#tfloans. Michigan has just completed its first year of a credit reduction. As a result, the credit reduction was applied retroactively to tax year 2009 earnings and the net FUTA tax during 2009 for Michigan employers is 1.1% on the first $7,000 of each employee’s earnings. No other state currently has a credit reduction; thus, in all other states the net FUTA 2009 tax was 0.8%. This report will be updated to reflect major changes in state UTF account solvency

Taxation of Unemployment Benefits

[Excerpt] Unemployment compensation (UC) benefits have been fully subject to the federal income tax since the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-514). Individuals who receive UC benefits during a year may elect to have the federal (and in some cases state) income tax withheld from their benefits. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5 §1007) included a temporary exclusion on the first $2,400 of UC benefits for the purposes of the federal income tax. This exclusion existed only in 2009. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated this would reduce federal receipts by approximately$4.7 billion. There is no federal income tax exclusion for unemployment benefits for tax years 2010 or 2011. The Workforce Fairness and Tax Relief Act of 2011 (H.R. 2806) would repeal the taxation of unemployment benefits and any trade adjustment assistance payments. This report provides an overview of the taxation of UC benefits and legislation related to taxing UC benefits. This report will be updated as legislative activity warrants

The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Employer Shared Responsibility Determination and the Potential Employer Penalty

[Excerpt] The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended) expanded insurance coverage in the United States through its “shared responsibility” provisions: Employers either provide health coverage or face potential employer tax penalties; likewise, individuals purchase health coverage or face potential individual tax penalties. The ACA does not require employers to provide health coverage, but it does impose employer penalties in the form of a monthly tax on employers that do not provide adequate and affordable health coverage to certain employees. This is known as the employer “shared responsibility” provision. Since 2015, employers with at least 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees are subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions under Section 4908H of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as amended by the ACA. However, in 2015, employers with between 50 and 100 FTE employees were eligible for transition relief if certain criteria were met. (For details, see “Implementation and Transition Relief” below.) This report describes the potential employer penalties as well as regulations to implement the ACA employer provisions. The regulations address insurance coverage requirements, methodologies for determining whether a worker is considered full time, provisions relating to seasonal workers and corporate franchises, and other reporting requirements