Select Page Biz Feel Blindsided by New UI System Costs By State House News Service | Apr 13, 2021 | Reprints | Print
With some Massachusetts businesses facing sudden and sharp unemployment tax increases just weeks after implementation of a new law aimed at limiting their costs, a top lawmaker wants Gov. Charlie Baker to intervene with a legislative fix.
Sen. Patricia Jehlen, co-chair of the legislature’s Labor and Workforce Development Committee, said Monday that she was surprised as were many small businesses and industry groups to hear reports about employers who now face greater-than-anticipated unemployment contributions because of an unexpected jump in the solvency fund assessment.
Massachusetts businesses push back against ballooning unemployment taxes following COVID-related claims
Updated 6:15 PM;
A growing number of Massachusetts business owners who took solace in the passage of a bill promoting an unemployment tax rate freeze during the COVID-19 pandemic are sounding the alarm after seeing massive increases in their employee contribution rate on their state tax notices.
The Retailers Association of Massachusetts circulated a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker and lawmakers urging them to find a fix to close a $4 billion-plus deficit the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund faces by the end of the year. RAM President Jon Hurst, Massachusetts Restaurant Association President Bob Luz and 17 chamber leaders signed onto the letter.
Employers face steep new fee increase to keep stateâs unemployment insurance fund solvent
Business groups call for government help in the face of skyrocketing bills
By Jon Chesto Globe Staff,Updated April 9, 2021, 1 hour ago
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Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts (pictured at the Belmont Wheelworks bicycle shop last August).Nancy Lane/Pool/file
A coalition of business groups sent a letter to state and federal leaders on Friday, calling for help in the face of skyrocketing unemployment insurance bills that will take many companies by surprise â
especially those that thought this issue was resolved.
Westwood Police Logs March 22-28: Stolen cars and a pesky customer
The following are excerpts from the Westwood Police logs from March 22-28. The logs are public record.
Monday, March 22
1:59 p.m.: A resident of Oxford Road reported unemployment fraud. They had received a letter from the state s Department of Unemployment Assistance regarding benefits they had not applied for. The resident was advised to place a watch on their financial accounts.
3:08 p.m.: A Yorkie mix was reported wandering around Aran Road. Police picked up the dog, discovered it was chipped, and located the owner, who picked up their pet at 3:51 p.m.
BOSTON A Merrimack, New Hampshire based company that provides liquidation for business furniture and equipment and its owner have pleaded guilty and been ordered to pay $180,000 in restitution for failing to pay employer contributions to the state’s unemployment insurance fund, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.
James Bucchianeri, age 67, of Derry, New Hampshire, president and owner of Global FF&E (aka Nationwide FF&E), pleaded guilty in Suffolk Superior Court March 31in a virtual hearing to the charge of Non-Payment of Employer Contribution (16 counts). Following the plea, Judge Debra Squires-Lee sentenced Bucchianeri to five years of probation and ordered him to complete 200 hours of community service and pay $180,000 in restitution to the state.