HR1316 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1316 LRB097 23473 GRL 72402 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Small businesses are the engine for job recovery in the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Adding a new employee for a small business is one of the most important decisions a small business owner can make; and

WHEREAS, Letting an employee go, either for cause or because of a poor fit, affects the experience rating of an employer, which determines the unemployment insurance tax rate the employer pays; and

WHEREAS, The experience rating calculation affects a small business that lets a single employee go disproportionately more than a large business that lets a single employee go, as a single employee is a much larger percentage of the workforce of a small business than a large business; and

WHEREAS, Small businesses are particularly leery of a higher experience rating, as that will lead to a higher unemployment insurance tax rate; and

WHEREAS, Current law only permits employers 30 working days to review the performance of a new employee before that employee impacts the experience rating of the employer; and

WHEREAS, Many small business employers believe that 30 days is not enough time to properly review whether a new employee is the right fit for a company; and

WHEREAS, The relatively short period of time before an employer is liable for a higher experience rating to pay the unemployment benefits of a former employee is a disincentive to hiring; and

WHEREAS, A more reasonable period of time, such as 90 days, would lessen this disincentive to hiring; and

WHEREAS, This period of time before the experience rating of an employer is affected for an employee that does not work out is unrelated to the question of how many weeks of benefits an employee is entitled to; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that all stakeholders in the State's unemployment insurance system are encouraged to consider the best amount of time to give employers to decide whether an employee is a good fit before their experience rating is affected, in order to encourage job growth.