All Employers are required to register with the Unemployment Insurance (UI) agency. Upon registering with the UI agency, the Employer is assigned an Employer ID and a record is created in SUITS. It is possible for Employers to register with the UI agency using a paper form. In such a case, an Internal UI agency employee will enter the registration form into SUITS, creating an Employer record. During this process it is important to enter in the Employer’s email address, as that will trigger the System to send an email to the Employer with a link to have them create a User Name and Password for the Employer Self Service Portal. If an Employer email is not provided, a User Name and Password cannot be created at that time; it may be advisable for staff to contact the Employer to obtain an email address so the Employer can use the Employer Portal.
When an Employer registers, via Self-Service or paper, it must answer a series of questions to determine whether it is liable, or obligated, to pay Unemployment Insurance tax on wages paid. A covered (liable) Employer entails an Employer (formed after Dec 31, 1971) that has paid for service in Employer wages a threshold amount, or for some portion of a day in 20 calendar weeks in either the current or preceding year, had one or more individuals in employment. The number of employees within the 20-week threshold varies by employment type.
During the registration process, the Employer is also required to provide contact information, business information and NAICS (North American Classification System; pronounced NAKES) classification information. At registration, the System determines the Employer’s liability status (whether or not they are liable to pay taxes or if they owe back taxes), effective date, and tax rate (called experience rate).
Certain types of Employers are required to go through an approval step before they become active (i.e. able to submit wage reports). Both non-profit Employers and government Employers can choose to be Reimbursable Employers versus Contributory Employers. Reimbursable Employers may choose the 0% Reimbursable option to pay back the UI agency for any Unemployment benefits paid out to a claimant, or the 2% Reimbursable option to pay a 2% proactive contribution each quarter which is reconciled yearly against their total benefit charges. At registration, all non-profits and all governmental Employers must be approved by the UI agency before becoming active.
Once an Employer is “Active”, it can submit wage reports. All Employers, regardless of liability status, are required to submit quarterly wage reports which detail how much the Employer paid out in wages. From that report, the System is able to calculate the amount of UI taxes due by the Employer.
In addition to Employers, Agents (third-party administrators) can register via the Agent Self-Service Portal. Agents are typically contracted by Employers to perform various payroll and HR duties. Administering UI reports and contributions may be one such duty. Agents are provided an Agent account number and are given access to the Agent Self-Service Portal. An Agent may establish a relationship with one or more contracted Employers using the Self-Service Portal and, conversely, an Employer can establish a relationship with an Agent using the Employer Self-Service Portal.