What to Expect when a Former Employee Files a Claim

Claims Process

Determination of Eligibility

If the organization believes a former employee is not eligible for benefits and submitted the protest form, all relevant facts will be reviewed by DWD. After this review is done, a Determination of Eligibility (DOE) will be issued. The DOE form will be sent to the organization and the employee. DOEs can be found in the Employer’s Correspondence History on ESS. The document name is usually Generic Determination Notice.

The employer has the right to appeal a DOE using the appeals process described in the section titled Filing an Appeal.

Statement of Benefit Charges

Each month DWD posts a Statement of Benefit Charges (State Form 535) to employers whose accounts have been charged because benefits were paid to former employees. DWD will mail a Charge Statement Notification to the employer to alert them that a Statement of Benefit Charges is available to be reviewed in E S S. The organization should:

1. Log into E S S and navigate to the Correspondence History menu
2. Review the statement carefully
3. Contact DWD as soon as possible if charges are incorrect

Call toll-free (800) 891-6499 and follow the options for benefits customer service if there are general questions about benefit charging.

Receiving a Statement of Benefit Charges does not reopen the question of the claimant’s eligibility to receive unemployment. See the section above on Determination of Eligibility for information on appealing the claimant’s eligibility to receive unemployment or base period   employer relief of charges.

The organization should notify DWD promptly if the worker has returned to work, received any payments which they should have reported as deductible income (such as vacation or severance pay), or have refused an offer of work.

• To report work refusals, please submit the Notice of Work Recall Refusal (640 WR) available at unemployment.IN.gov.
• To report someone who is receiving UI benefits and is not reporting their hours of work and earnings, please follow use the Report Unemployment Fraud page on our website to submit an investigation request.

If the organization has reason to believe that the Statement of Benefit Charges is incorrect for reasons other than the claimant’s eligibility to receive benefits or relief of base period charges, the organization should submit a Tax Liability Protest Form (SF55109) no more than fifteen days from the mailing date of the Charge Statement Notification which is also the posting date of the Statement of Benefit Charges. See the section titled Filing an Appeal for additional information on tax liability protests.

Combined Wage Transfer

If a former employee of the organization is receiving UI benefits from another state and has wages reported from the organization on their claim, it is called a Combined Wage Transfer claim. There is no difference to the organization’s account whether the former employee lives in Indiana or elsewhere. DWD simply combines the wage information from Indiana employers pertaining to the former employee and transfers the information to the state in which the former employee is filing for UI benefits.

Filing an Appeal

Any party with standing may appeal the DOE and request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The organization has standing to appeal if the ALJ could change the outcome of the original decision in the organization’s favor. The appeal and request for a hearing must be made in writing.

Appeal instructions are found on the back of the DOE form. Appeal requests can be sent to:

• UI Appeals
• 10 N. Senate Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46204
• Fax: (317) 233-6888

Wage Investigation

Workers filing a claim for unemployment benefits are given a monetary determination which shows them their base period earnings from all employers.

Appealing the monetary determination

• Appeal of monetary determination is filed
• Proof of Earnings Provided:
  • The appeal is examined
  • The appeal is sent to the Wage Investigation division
• Proof of Earnings is not Provided:
  • The worker’s appeal of the monetary determination will be heard before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).
  • If the issue on the appeal is determined by the ALJ to be potential missing or incomplete wage reporting by the employer, then the ALJ will create a tax referral and send it to the Wage Investigation division.
• The wage investigator will examine the proof of earnings received from the worker
• The investigator will contact the worker to gather additional facts and evidence regarding the nature of the relationship between the parties.
  • If the worker provides a basis for further investigation, the investigator will contact the employer, generally by email, and will request additional information regarding the nature of the worker’s services.
• The investigator will analyze all facts, evidence, and statements provided and will issue a written determination regarding the wages and employment of the worker.
• Determines the original monetary is correct:
  • Original appeal will be closed with no change to the monetary determination.
• Determines the original monetary is incorrect:
  • A new monetary determination will be issued.

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