labor lawAdivision of labor law center

 The US Department of Labor has a number of resources in place for Louisiana victims of Hurricane Gustav. Similar programs for survivors of Hurricane Ike in Texas are sure to follow.

So far, the US Department of Labor has announced a $22.2 million national emergency grant  to Louisiana to aid workers displaced by the hurricane. Emergency grant funds are available to employers, small business owners and self-employed workers as well as employees displaced by the natural disaster.

The funds will be used to create more than 4,000 (more…)

In the state of Louisiana, it is possible as well for an employer with accurate and backed up records to dispute an unemployment claim against their record. Such instances can arise, as we have seen, when an employee formerly on your pay roll was let go because of some fault of their own—whether they quit or resigned or whether you let them go because of some sort of disciplinary action. Remember—unemployment benefits are supposed to only go to former employees in the state of Louisiana who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

Again, another instance when unemployment insurance claims shouldn’t be charged against you is if, simply, that employee never worked for you. Or, on the other hand, if they did work for you but you know you weren’t their last employer. It is the last employer, after all, who is responsible for making those payments on their tab.

In Louisiana, if you can prove that you shouldn’t be the employer footing the bill for the unemployment insurance benefits of a certain employee, then the payment of those benefits can then get charged to the “generic kitty” in the state, as it’s called casually (with the formal name being “Social Charge” account). In that case, you will not be charged for that employee, and your taxes may not go up because of that possible charge.

When you do submit such a protest in the state of Louisiana, there is an analyst in the state that goes through the process of reviewing your request. They are responsible for making any adjustments if necessary, and then you will get notice from the state if your protest has been accepted or not. As with all of your personnel files and documents, this response from the state, as well as the benefit charge statement that tells you how much your account still has been charged, should be kept in your records.