Will Tennessee Really Reduce Unemployment Pay After Being Fourth Lowest?

With Tennessee's jobless rate persistently in double digits, the idea of cutting weekly benefits has emerged as one way to keep the state's unemployment compensation fund in the black.

That seems like a smart plan to cash-strapped small-business owners, who are paying higher taxes after an increase to keep the fund solvent last year, and some say another tax increase could push them under.

But laid-off workers say the maximum weekly amount is already too low and shouldn't be tampered with.

"They should be looking at raising it," said Jerry R. Baldwin, a Brentwood man who has drawn unemployment checks for 14 months after the distribution company where he worked closed.

In Tennessee, the most a laid-off worker can get each week in unemployment benefits is $275, the fourth-lowest rate in the nation and a tie with Florida. (The rate has been bumped up temporarily to $300 a week with a $25 federal stimulus add-on.)

Some small-business owners say a cut in workers' benefits would help keep the overall unemployment fund functional.

"I don't see how we could get around it," said Kenneth Gough, president and general manager of Accurate Machine Products Corp.

The state's unemployment compensation fund stood at $630 million before the recession started. But the pool of money has been drawn all the way down to $103 million as about 170,000 unemployment checks are sent out each week.

The fund is expected to go $20 million in the red in April, but a no-interest federal loan is expected to cover the gap until tax revenues start coming in, said Bill Fox, an economist from the University of Tennessee who advises the state on the trust fund that pays jobless benefits.

However, another shortfall — this one even larger — is expected once again in 2011.

That uncertainty has everyone preparing for a whole slew of what-ifs.

"This is a problem that is not going away," said state House Speaker Kent Williams, R-Elizabethton. "Further taxation is not the answer."

Source Link: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100203/BUSINESS01/2030364/2047/BUSINESS/Tennessee+considers+reducing+unemployment+pay

Don Ingram - Tennessee Department of Labor Explains Reasons Benefits Are Delayed.

This is a clip from News Channel 5 with Don Ingram, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Admin, explaining the cause for delay about the latest unemployment extension and answering call in questions about the matter. Although each state is having to deal with different circumstances, the common reason for the delays are all related to the process of implementation and the high amounts of claims the departments are having to process. Mr. Ingram explains that claims are up 120% and at one point in the video states that the department simply was not designed to handle the number of claims which are being received.

Tennessee Department of Labor Explains Preliminary Details

The following information is a post written by Mr. John Partlow, Tennessee Department of Labor. Hopefully, this information gives Tennesseans an idea of what to expect in the coming weeks regarding the latest unemployment extension signed into law on November 6th, 2009 by President Barack Obama.

Here is the information he has provided:

"Like we posted on our website, the letters are scheduled to go out December 7th and 8th. The letters will go out only to those who have exhausted all of their entitlement and aren’t drawing anymore. The letters will instruct you to go to our website on December 11 to file the application. Those that are currently receiving unemployment should transition from EB into EUC Tier 3 or from EUC Tier 2 into EUC Tier 3, depending upon what they are currently receiving.

Hopefully, the checks will start to be mailed the following week after Friday, December 11. Once I know more about the specific day, I will let you know. There is a massive check run on Sunday night and Monday night for TUC payments and then a massive check run on Tuesday night for EUC Tier 1 and 2 payments, then a check run on Wednesday night for EB, so most likely, the EUC Tier 3 and 4 checks will be a Thursday night check run.

So, more than likely, the first checks for EUC Tier 3 will be issued on December 17.

This means that if you applied on December 11, you should be issued lump sum payment that covers the weeks of:

11-14
11-21
11-28
12-5
and possibly 12-12

Then you would start certifying weekly. I believe that the day we are going to assign for EUC Tier 3 and 4 to certify will be Thursday. Its my understanding that you will be able to certify through TIPS or online. The days for certifications will be:

Sundays – Regular TUC if your SSN ends in an even number
Mondays – Regular TUC if your SSN ends in an odd number
Tuesdays – EUC Tiers 1 & 2
Wedensdays – EB
Thursdays – EUC Tiers 3 & 4 and makeup day for everyone

If you haven’t worked since you last certified for a week of benefits, your claim should quickly be approved. If you have worked somewhere, we will have to verify the separation with your most recent employer before you are approved. Also, if you aren’t able and available for work or have some other individual circumstance that prevents you from working, that must be adjudicated as well before you can receive these benefits.

The work search requirement is not the same as EB. The tangible work searches are only for those receiving EB. EUC Tiers 3 & 4 go back to the state policy of work searches where you must register for work through the career centers (which everyone, I am sure, is already registered) and seek work using your customary means.

I hope this helps everyone understand what to expect in the next week or so."

Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee All On the Same System?

An antiquated computer system is slowing payments to South Carolina's jobless and officials say it will take weeks to bring the system up to speed.

The Greenville News reported Sunday that the 23-year-old computer system at the Employment Security Commission isn't set up to allow payments to jobless workers who have been unemployed for more than 79 weeks.

ESC assistant deputy executive director Jimmy Jones said the 23-year-old system was not designed to make payments easily and has to be programmed to allow the payments. Jones said that could take at least two weeks.

"It could be longer," Jones said. But the agency can't go outside to get experts to work on the system because it is so old and in-house staffers understand how it works, he said.

Asked if the agency could use experts from places like Clemson University or the University of South Carolina, Jones said, "We really can't utilize people like that."

The issue of the agency's computer system initially came up in January when Gov. Mark Sanford and the state Department of Commerce wanted information about unemployment claims and jobs that the ESC said its computers couldn't produce without significant programming that could take up to six months to complete.

Jones said the agency sent officials to Virginia to check out their computer system because it was one that provided information similar to what Sanford was requesting. But the real problem was the governor requested data ESC didn't compile and track.

Currently, South Carolina is a member of a four-state consortium that is working to determine the feasibility of designing a system that could be used by all four states, with tweaking for each state's individual unemployment system programs, he said.

The feasibility study, expected to take 18 months to two years, will kick off next month and be funded with a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Once the study is completed, the consortium of the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee will seek another grant to build the system, he said. That could easily be in the range of $50 million and also would be funded by the Labor Department.

USDOL Operating Instructions for November Extension

Here is the guidance that the USDOL has sent to the states regarding how EUC Tiers 3(III) and 4(IV) work. The first link was their initial guidance published on November 13th. The second link had some changes in their November 13th guidance with some additional instructions.

http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/uipl/uipl23-08c5.pdf
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/uipl/uipl23-08c6.pdf


The above links are the definitive word from the USDOL on how the extensions must be handled and who is eligible.  Although this information was provided to the State of Tennessee the information is applicable for all states.

Tennessee Residents - November Unemployment Insurance Benefits Extension

The Tennessee Department of Labor has stated that applications to apply for the latest unemployment insurance extension may do so online on December 11, 2009.  If you have exhausted your benefits and qualify for this extension, you will be sent a letter in the mail within the next week which will include a monetary determination and instructions for the application process.  Those who are currently getting unemployment insurance should automatically transition into this latest extension, if needed.

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