Any business with employees will need to pay unemployment insurance taxes, report new hires, and comply with other filing and reporting requirements. Make sure you fully understand your obligations as an employer before you hire your first employee. If you are required to pay unemployment insurance taxes, you will need to register with your state's workforce tax agency.
Employers must follow their state's requirements for paying unemployment taxes, reporting new employees, and responding to unemployment claims. Your state's unemployment agency will provide you with more information on your duties, which typically include:
Unemployment taxes. Most employers will have to pay both federal and state unemployment taxes, which fund unemployment insurance programs. The rate depends on the amount of wages, the number of employees, and also the number of charges to the employer's unemployment account.
Reporting. Typically, employers must report all new hires to an employer registry, a workforce tax agency, or both.
Responding to Claims. If a former employee files an unemployment claim, the unemployment agency will notify the employer and give them a chance to respond and contest the claim.
Unemployment benefits are cash benefits to help eligible individuals who lose their job. The amount and duration of the benefits depend on the state where the employee worked and the employee's wages.
To be eligible for unemployment, you must be able and available to work. In addition, if you were at fault for losing your job, meaning that you quit or were fired, you typically can't collect unemployment.
Check with your state's unemployment agency to determine the process for filing for unemployment. The steps might include:
Be sure to review your state's ongoing reporting requirements. Your state might require you to check in about your job search, or maintain a job search log and provide it upon request.
Below are links to each state agency that handles business employment matters, including unemployment insurance tax, employee reporting requirements, and other employee-related matters.
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming