How do benefits paid to former employees affect my account?

Charges resulting from benefits paid

Reference: Minnesota Law, §268.047

Unemployment benefit payments made to eligible applicants are charged to each base period employer using the same ratio as the base period wages that were paid by each employer.

EXAMPLE: If an eligible applicant worked for two employers that each paid $2,000 in the base period, each employer would be charged 50 percent of the benefits paid.

By law, a base period employer's account is always charged for any benefits paid to a former employee unless a statutory exception is found to apply. There are several exceptions spelled out in the law, but the two most common ones are:

• The applicant quit without good reason caused by the employers.
• The applicant was discharged for reasons found to be employment misconduct under the Unemployment Insurance law.
  
  Refer to Minnesota Law §268.095 for definitions of quits, discharges, and misconduct.

There are other statutory exceptions to charges that apply less frequently. These include:

• The applicant is working for you in regularly scheduled, part-time employment.
• The applicant works for you as a volunteer firefighter or ambulance driver.
• The applicant lost his or her employment with you due to a natural disaster or condemnation of the property where the work was performed.
• The applicant stopped working due to a labor dispute but the employer is not a party to the labor dispute.
• The applicant was a replacement worker for at least six months for an employee who is in the military reserve and was called to active duty.
• The applicant earned less than $500 with the employer during the base period (taxpaying employers only)

Charges to your account are adjusted when an applicant is found to have been overpaid for benefits previously paid or found to be eligible for benefits after previously found ineligible. These adjustments can be viewed by logging into your online employer account.

NOTE: It is unlawful for any employer to ask employees to waive, release, or commute their rights to unemployment benefits.