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Employer: Frequently Asked Questions

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Most Popular Questions
Unemployment Eligibility
Unemployment Application Process
Taxes and Payments
Technical Errors, Notifications and Troubleshooting

Unemployment Eligibility

No. Unemployment benefits are available only if you are unemployed. Employees on FMLA through their employer are not unemployed.

Unemployment Application Process

Please email ALL WARNs and inquiries to rapdresp@jfs.ohio.gov.
Please distribute this Step-by-Step Guide to employees to help them with the claim process.
Applying online is the quickest way to start receiving unemployment benefits. To apply online, employees should go to unemployment.ohio.gov and click on "Employee" then "Unemployment Login." Click here for a step-by-step guide to applying online. If employees don’t have access to a computer, they can apply by phone by calling 877-644-6562. Call center hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Note that it is not possible to apply for unemployment benefits in person.

Taxes and Payments

Please respond timely to these notices and write "fraud/identity theft" on them so that we can investigate the claims and take appropriate actions. The most expedient way for employers to respond to Request for Separation forms is by responding via your online account or by using the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES) portal.

Unfortunately, identity theft and unemployment fraud are widespread national challenges. We encourage you to let your employees know about the identity theft reporting portal and other resources available at unemployment.ohio.gov. Both individuals and employers can report identity theft to ODJFS and access other resources by clicking on the "Report Identity Theft" button at unemployment.ohio.gov.

Please visit unemployment.ohio.gov and click on the "Report Identity Theft" button to report the names of affected employees and access other resources. This will allow us to investigate the claims that were filed and take appropriate actions, including correcting the 1099-G forms that they were sent.
For contributory (tax-paying) employers, once we determine that a claim is fraudulent, we mutualize any charges and remove them from the employer’s account. Reimbursing employers (such as nonprofit and government agencies) should continue to pay bills for legitimate claims timely. We are not actively collecting reimbursing employer debt and are working with the U.S. Department of Labor to identify options for reimbursing employers who were billed for claims that have been determined to be fraudulent.
Please notify us as soon as possible by calling our hotline: (833) 658-0394.

Technical Errors, Notifications and Troubleshooting

Typically, you will be able to view correspondence once you receive an email notification that the correspondence is available. If you have correspondence requesting information, you will not be able to open it if the deadline for responding has passed. If you have recently received an error message relating to Adobe, please make sure your default PDF viewer is Adobe Acrobat Reader. For instructions in how to do that in Windows 10, click here.