Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski announced on Thursday that he will be introducing legislation that would exclude unemployment payments and claims by employees arising from the COVID-19 public health emergency from the calculation of an employer’s unemployment experience rating.

“Small businesses are struggling to survive as many were forced to close or severely restrict their operations as a result of COVID-19. With their employees seeking unemployment insurance, these businesses’ will see their future unemployment insurance rates skyrocket as their experience rating reflect past claims. We must take action to prevent this large financial burden when these businesses reopen and rehire employees,” said Assemblyman Zebrowski.

An experience rating is used to assess unemployment charges on employers that reflect their past unemployment claims. Many small businesses have lower unemployment insurance experience ratings as they have a small number of past claims and a low number of employees. This crisis has led to an unprecedented number of individuals seeking unemployment benefits due to the widespread closure of businesses. By excluding these payments and claims from the experience rating calculation, businesses will avoid a sharp increase in their unemployment rates in a few months when they are in the midst of rebuilding.

“We must look at every option to assist workers and small business owners as we navigate our way through this unique crisis. This fix will not only help small business owners, but will ensure that businesses will be able to rehire workers rather than pay exorbitant unemployment rates,” concluded Zebrowski.