Human Resource Blog

employee and unemployment compensation

An employee was dismissed from my business in Kentucky within 5 days, that person then moved back to Tennessee and worked elsewherein that state, has since filed for unemployment in Tennessee, and also included my business (he had earned $560.00 in that time period) can I be responsible for unemployment compensation?

Our motto where unemployment benefits are concerned are *never say never.* This is because every state has different laws and regulations covering unemployment. Also, sometimes the rulings reached are unpredictable, and do not seem to conform to the states regulations.

With that disclaimer, if the person genuinely worked in Tennessee as an employee after leaving your employ, you should not be the chargeable employer. Generally, the most recent employer is the chargable party. In this case, that would be the last employer in Tennessee. However, if the person was working as an independent contractor or illegally working *under the table* you might be the *most recent* employer.

However, it is more likely that the employee is simply trying to demonstrate that he or she has enough earnings and hours worked in the past 15 months to qualify for unemployment benefits.