On December 10, 2020, Governor Hogan issued an Executive Order waiving the charging of COVID-19 unemployment insurance benefits to employers. The Executive Order seeks to prevent employer tax rates from increasing due to unemployment insurance benefit payments to former employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maryland will maintain the 2020 benefit ratio, in turn reducing employers’ 2021 tax rates from what they would have otherwise been. The State will look to employers’ pre-pandemic experience by omitting the 2020 fiscal year, instead using the last three fiscal years of 2017, 2018 and 2019. Employers should expect to receive their preliminary 2021 tax rate through the BEACON 2.0 portal from the Division of Unemployment Insurance at the end of this month, and their 2021 Experience Rate Notice at the beginning of 2021.
The Department of Labor has published Answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding this Executive Order. Shulman Rogers Employment Law attorneys are available to answer any questions about this Alert or discuss the topic further.
The contents of this Alert are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact the Shulman Rogers attorney with whom you regularly work or a member of the Shulman Rogers Employment and Labor Law Group.
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