NC Gov. Cooper issues order to make filing for unemployment claims easier

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has issued an executive order that will help make the processing of unemployment claims easier by lifting some of the requirements for employers to file attached claims on behalf of their employees.

More than half a million people in North Carolina have filed for unemployment in the past four weeks.

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An attached claim is an unemployment claim filed by an employer on behalf of an employee who has been temporarily laid off or who has worked less than 60% of their customary full-time hours.

An employer becomes the main point of contact for DES for a group of employees who are temporarily out of work, making the filing process much more efficient.

“Attached claims are a tool that employers can use to help their employees until they can go back to work. They help us get benefits out faster to the people who need them,” said Lockhart Taylor, assistant secretary of the Division of Employment Security. “They also are an invaluable tool for DES to know when employers resume operations and work is available to their employees again.”

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Breakdown of the order:

• An employer doesn’t need to prepay the cost of unemployment benefits for their employees at the time the attached claim is filed.
• Employers can file attached claims for more than six weeks of benefits.
• Employers may submit an attached claim for an employee more than once in a year.
• Employers do not need to have a positive credit balance with DES to file claims.

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