From the outset of the COVID-19 crisis, the Texas Workforce Commission assured employers that higher taxes due to pandemic-related unemployment claims wouldn’t be a thing.
Unfortunately for hundreds of Texas restaurants, that assurance was dashed when, at the at the onset of the pandemic, they were heftily charged — and taxed — for those claims.
In response, the TWC this week outlined steps to ensure restaurants and other small businesses can appeal COVID-19 unemployment claim-related charges and taxes the owners feel were beyond their control. However, there’s a catch. Only employers who were charged during the early stages of the pandemic will have the chance to appeal.
“During the early stages of the pandemic, statements were released by TWC indicating employer accounts would not be charged for benefits that were paid due to COVID-19,” a May 26 TWC statement read. “While most employers had their accounts protected for employees who separated from work post-COVID, the same was not true for employers who had employees separate from work during the two years leading up to March 2020.”
According to the TWC’s statement, the commission’s Unemployment Insurance Division will contact qualifying employers directly about whether they can file their protest or appeal. Determinations will be issued for protests and, where applicable, employers will receive a hearing during which they can make their case.
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This article appears in May 18-31, 2022.
