One hundred sixty-six CATA dealer members reported a combined 2,493 unemployment claims during the first quarter of 2021 to Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc., which has been serving CATA dealers under various names since 1979. The company’s efforts saved those dealers a total of $8.25 million in benefit charges by contesting the claims.

 

Sedgwick monitors any unemployment claims against its clients and contests all unwarranted claims and charges. The company counts about 241 CATA dealers among its clients.

 

Claims that can be protested and subsequently denied help minimize an employer’s unemployment tax rate. The rate can vary between 0.675 percent and 6.875 percent of each employee’s first $12,960 in earnings.

 

The 2021 average unemployment tax rate & new employer rate for Illinois employers is 3.175 percent, or about $411.50 annually per employee ($398 in 2020). Rates have been improving since 2012, with a slight increase in 2021. However, rates are expected to increase in 2022 due to depleting state trust fund balances.

 

"The unemployment tax is really the only controllable tax in business, in that it’s experience-driven," said Bruce Kijewski of Sedgwick. An ex-employee’s claim affects the employer’s tax rate for three years.

 

For new enrollees, Sedgwick client fees amount to $2.85 per employee, per fiscal quarter. For the fee, Sedgwick monitors all unemployment claims; files any appeals; prepares employer witnesses for hearings, as necessary; represents the client at any hearings; verifies the benefit charge statements; and confirms the client’s unemployment tax rate.

 

For more information, including how to retain Sedgwick’s unemployment services, contact Kijewski at (773) 824-4322 or Bruce.Kijewski@Sedgwick.com.