April 6, 2020
Today, the Alliance sent [a] letter to Governor Ducey outlining our concern about increased unemployment concerns relating to nonprofits, asking him to hold 100% harmless these organizations and to expand unemployment benefits to all nonprofit employees as we work to mitigate tremendous losses while continuing to provide critical services to our community.
These organizations are providing direct services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will need additional relief from the significant financial burden caused by unemployment claims in order to provide some continuity of service.
The…state needs to take two additional steps…: 1. Ensure that…the General Statutes allow the state of North Carolina to receive the federal funds to cover half of the costs of COVID-19 related UI claims for self-insured nonprofits and to apply these funds toward the reimbursements that these nonprofits would ordinarily owe for these claims; and 2. Provide forgiveness from North Carolina’s UI Trust Fund for the other half of the amounts that these self-insured nonprofits would typically need to reimburse the state for COVID-19 related UI claims.…To the extent that the General Assembly makes temporary changes to unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, it is important to fully hold harmless nonprofits have the option of self-insuring and reimbursing the state for UI claims…rather than paying SUTA based on experience rating.
We are in a situation unlike any we have known and many critical nonprofit and public agencies that self-insure these benefits will go under if they do not receive help to offset dollars owed by nonprofits or direct reimbursement to nonprofits for the employer piece of self-insured unemployment benefits.
As you may be aware, the stimulus package protects the unemployment experience rating and related financial risks in SUI by providing 100% benefit reimbursement for claims due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, self-insured nonprofits are to be reimbursed for only half (50%) of the costs incurred. It is now up to the State of New York to immediately act, as other states have done (Michigan, Kentucky, and Montana, for example), to protect and hold harmless self-insured charitable organizations.
We urge you to issue an Executive Order to provide a temporary waiver of the requirement that all unemployment claims related to the COVID-19 crisis be charged to an individual employer’s unemployment account and thus, subject to 50% reimbursement by self-insured charities. In doing so, the State of New York will be ensuring that there will be no discrimination among employers in this regard and that the financial viability and sustainability of these charities will be strengthen, rather than further weakened..
We urge you to issue an Executive Order to provide a temporary waiver of the requirement that all unemployment claims related to the COVID-19 crisis be charged to an individual employer’s unemployment account and thus, subject to 50% reimbursement by self-insured charities. In doing so, the State of Ohio will be ensuring that there will be no discrimination among employers in this regard and that the financial viability and sustainability of these charities will be strengthen, rather than further weakened, and many of those jobs serving our community lost for good.
Many states are taking steps to protect businesses and nonprofits that pay SUTA from taking a financial hit from Coronavirus-related layoffs by enacting laws that prevent UI claims related to COVID-19 from affecting their experience ratings. However, these laws do not hold harmless nonprofits that self-insure for UI benefits, since freezing state unemployment tax rates does nothing to relieve these organizations of the need to reimburse their states for the full amount of the UI benefits that their employees receive when they are out of work due to COVID-19. To prevent further economic harm to these already struggling, state legislators (or Governors taking executive action on UI) must temporarily waive requirements that self-insured nonprofits repay state UI trust funds for claims arising for Coronavirus-related reasons. Congress can help encourage states to provide this protection for nonprofits by offering federal funding to state unemployment trust funds to offset the potential cost of holding self-insuring organizations harmless for UI claims arising due to COVID-19.
Ready to chat? Get in touch today to request a no-obligation savings evaluation.
Visually Impaired Preschool Services has been a client of First Non-Profit since it was first offered as a benefit of VisionServe Alliance. We completed a thorough evaluation of cash savings to our agency before taking advantage of this wonderful benefit and it has been a very wise decision. Our experience with the processes from accounting to claims have been professional, expeditious and easy.
The Ensight Skills Center has enjoyed working with First Nonprofit for several years. We are enrolled in their Unemployment Savings Program and although we have not required a lot of intervention, there have been a few times. I know others have dealt with the same problem of unemployment fraud over the last year and in our case, a call to First Nonprofit (they actually answer their phones) cleared up the issue. They also sent us a letter to send to all our employees telling them what they needed to do to prevent this in the future and protect themselves. What a relief! Over the years if I have questions or concerns, they are happy to listen, advise and help if they can. Another BIG advantage of using First Nonprofit is that all the money that is paid into the Unemployment Savings Program lives on my balance sheet as an asset. The money continues to be Ensight’s not the governments. First Nonprofit has certainly given me peace of mind.
In addition to their money-saving purpose on behalf of nonprofit organizations like AHS, First Nonprofit’s Nonprofit Unemployment Fund streamlines the information we need to efficiently manage unemployment claims. Our relationship with NU Fund gave us access to such things as advice on planning for what’s ahead and how to analyze cost scenarios when unexpected events occurred. Both experiences were very helpful.
We have had a great experience with FNP. During Covid, when there was the chance that reimbursable nonprofits would have to pay 50% of the unemployment costs, FNP went to bat for us. We would receive weekly information on the Unemployment claim and how they were working to reduce the costs to reimbursable nonprofits. They have a great service also working with [our claims administrator] to make sure all the paperwork is completed correctly for any unemployment claim.
PORT Health Services has had a great experience with the Unemployment Savings Program offered through First Nonprofit. Throughout the years we have been involved in the program, we have increased our reserve account significantly through this program and find the reporting we receive both timely and useful. We look forward to our continued involvement with this program and our connection with First Nonprofit for many years to come.
Job One was spending a lot of money on unemployment. Our insurance broker, Mark Simcosky, recommended that we switch over to First Nonprofit. We did just that! This switch has been a huge savings for us! This switch saved us over $10,000 in the first year. Their customer service is Superior! Any time we have a question, we get a response very quickly. Any time we send them a report and they have a question; they call rather than just assuming. They were very responsive during COVID, even when they were in crisis mode their selves. They also were always there when we needed during COVID and very helpful! We would 1,000% recommend First Nonprofit to anybody that could benefit from it!
My experience with FNP has always been positive. Every time I have had to contact them, I’m always put in contact with a friendly and knowledgeable person. If something is missing from our account, they reach out to us to request it. It’s nice to work with a company that makes sure our account is current. I would recommend them to any nonprofit looking to reduce their unemployment insurance costs.
We’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars PER YEAR by changing to become a reimbursing employer, freeing funds for much needed capital investment. FNP has been a valued partner in this process, providing assurance that we have stopgap coverage for extraordinary claims and keeping claims response painless and simple. It’s a huge Win/Win!