Protest a Claim for Unemployment Benefits

Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has auto-enrolled all employers into SIDES E-Response to improve efficiency and accessibility.  SIDES empowers employers to quickly, accurately, and securely respond to unemployment insurance requests.  It eliminates the guesswork, misinformation and lengthy processes of these claims so employers can have confidence in not only the validity of claims, but the payout of funds.

What to expect when an individual files a claim against your account:

When an individual files an initial claim for unemployment, DWD will notify all base period employers (employers who employed that individual over the last 18 months)by posting a notification in ESS.  Employers will respond to the notice via SIDES (State Information Data Exchange System). You will access SIDES through Employer Self Service (ESS). Requests for separation information will be posted in SIDES and require a response. You can access ESS FAQs here. All ESS users with a “Benefit/Appeal,” “All,” or “Administrator” role will receive email notification when a request for separation information is sent.

Employers have ten (10) days to respond to the notice.  For more information on SIDES and E-Response, please click here.

The claimant will be offered the opportunity to identify additional employers that are not included in their base period, including their separating employer.  If the Separating/Base period Employer Notice indicates No under the base period column and / or if the SUTA number, legal name or address are not correct, the notice was due to a claimant added mailing.  For an employer to be charged with benefits, the SUTA account must be correct and the employer must be in the claimant’s base period.

Employers should respond to a Separation Information request if you believe the individual is not entitled to benefits, is entitled to a reduced amount of benefits, or should not be charged to your SUTA account.

Indiana law provides that an individual may be ineligible, or eligible for a reduced amount of benefits, if the individual:

• Quit voluntarily (job abandonment, voluntary buy-out);
• Was discharged for just cause (policy violation, absenteeism, incarceration);
• Was discharged for gross misconduct (committing a felony or Class A misdemeanor, intoxicated at work, consuming alcohol/drugs on the employer’s premises in connection with work without the employer’s permission, battery on another employee, fraud, theft or misuse of funds);
• Is entitled to vacation pay, pay in lieu of vacation, “standby pay,” or wages in lieu of notice;
• Is receiving or will receive retirement pay; or
• Is otherwise ineligible (did not work for you, is still working for you).

Notice of Work Recall or Refusal (Employer) (Form 640-WR/State Form 56951)

You should use Form 640-WR to protest if the employee/prospective employee refused work (either a work recall or an offer of suitable employment ).

What happens next?

Once DWD receives the separation information, the employer and the individual filing for benefits will be contacted for additional information (if needed).  Please respond as quickly as possible if further information is requested. If you do not respond within the required timeframe, a decision will be made on the available information from the forms and the other party. Use of the protest form is not sufficient to deny a claim. You must provide any additional information requested by DWD for an accurate eligibility determination to be made and may face penalties to your account if you fail to provide requested information, even if the individual is later determined ineligible.

Continuing to manage your account:

When a former employee files a new unemployment insurance claim, a SIDES Monetary and Potential Charging Request will be generated.  You will receive an email notification and a separate alert when logging in to your account through the ESS Portal.  Each month that your account is charged for benefits, DWD will send a new Statement of Benefit Charges (Form 535) to your correspondence history on ESS. This statement will show you the benefits being charged to your account, listed by individual, amount, and relevant dates. Please review this statement each month to make sure the charges are correct. If you have any questions about these charges, or other matters regarding your unemployment account, please refer to the Employer Guide, the employer section of the DWD website, or contact Customer Service via our Contact page.