Idaho employers catch break on taxes to support workers who lost jobs from pandemic
David Staats, Idaho Statesman
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IDAHO FALLS (Idaho Statesman) – Idaho businesses won’t have to foot the full bill for unemployment compensation paid to workers furloughed or laid off as the coronavirus gripped Idaho. The nation’s taxpayers will, eventually.
The Idaho Department of Labor said Friday that it will keep its standard unemployment-insurance tax rate on employers at the legal minimum in 2021: 1% of payroll costs. That’s despite a surge of claims for unemployment compensation that placed heavy demands on the state’s unemployment trust fund this year.
State s jobless cost for 2020: $1 billion | Northwest lmtribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Idaho attempting to recover overpaid unemployment benefits
December 14, 2020 GMT
BOISE, Idaho (AP) The state of Idaho is trying to recover overpaid unemployment benefits disbursed as part of an effort to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Idaho Department of Labor said there were 11,222 weekly overpayments in the third quarter of this year, affecting thousands of residents, The Idaho Statesman reports.
The labor department said 97% of the excess payments resulted from mistakes by people claiming unemployment benefits.
An example of a claimant error would be taking a vacation and traveling outside their residential area, which is prohibited under the program’s regulations.
The state says it overpaid your unemployment benefits. Now it demands the money back
David Staats, Idaho Statesman
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Gov. Brad Little talks about his frustration with the Department of Labor’s delays in making unemployment compensation payments to laid-off Idaho workers, but defends Idaho’s standards against fraud. | BY DAVID STAATS
IDAHO FALLS (Idaho Statesman) Is this you?
You’re an Idahoan who lost your job when the coronavirus wreaked havoc. You needed an income. So you applied for unemployment benefits. You started getting payments, week after week.
Suddenly, the online portal you used to certify your weekly eligibility coughed up an unpleasant surprise: You were overpaid. You must pay thousands of dollars back to the state.