Change in determination process

Due to recent legislation, Ohio has made a change to how they issue decisions regarding unemployment claims.  Historically, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) issued one decision that ruled on whether or not the individual claiming benefits has enough covered employment AND whether or not the claimant was eligible based on the reason for separation from employment or cause of the partial unemployment.

Beginning in October of 2023, the state split the decisions into two separate communications.  Therefore, the employer and claimant may receive two decisions, where historically they would have received one. 

The first decision, the Monetary Determination, will rule on whether the individual applying for benefits has worked at least 20 weeks in a job that was covered by unemployment, and earned at least $280 per week during the base period (earliest four of the past five completed quarters).  The Monetary Determination will also list the weekly benefit amount that the individual would be eligible to receive and the amount the employer would be charged for the claim.  However, if a Monetary Determination is issued, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the individual will be eligible to receive benefits.

The second decision, the Determination of Benefit Payment Eligibility (Eligibility Determination), will notify the individual whether or not they are eligible to receive benefits.  The Eligibility Determination will be based on the whether or not ODJFS determines that the individual was unemployed or experienced partial unemployment due to no fault of their own.

If an employer paid the individual wages during the base period  and was the last separating employer, it will receive two decisions.  In the past this type of employer would only receive one decision that ruled on both monetary and eligibility decisions.  If the employer wishes to appeal the eligibility based on the reason for separation, they need to appeal the Eligibility Determination.  If the employer disagrees with the wages used to calculate the weekly benefit amount, they need to appeal the Monetary Determination. 

For Sedgwick Unemployment clients, Sedgwick receives all the unemployment decisions and will take care of any appeals that need to be filed based on feedback from you.  If you are interested in learning more about our unemployment services, contact: Dom Potina, dominic.potina@sedgwick.com.