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Lawmakers press DEW director on UI trust fund math and employer tax rates
Summary
Committee members questioned Director Cheryl Stanton about a reported $590M trust fund balance, statutory reserve formulas, tax-setting timing and projections that put the 2020 reserve target near $946M–$970M; Stanton said the agency reviews taxable wages each year and will provide updated April–May collections.
Members of the Labor, Commerce and Industry joint review pressed the Department of Employment and Workforce for details on the agency's unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund and employer tax-setting. "As of April 30 we have a reserve as of over $590,000,000 in the trust fund balance," Director Cheryl Stanton told the panel and explained the reserve is set by a statutorily based formula tied to worst-recession experience and the state's taxable wage base.
Senators and representatives asked whether the agency was over-collecting from employers in the five-year rebuild plan and how taxable wage growth affects the reserve target. Stanton said the statutorily prescribed calculation shifted as the taxable wage base grew and projected a 2020 reserve need between $946,000,000 and $970,000,000; she told the committee she monitors weekly claims and would return with updated figures as May collections are processed.
