New York State is launching a new fee to help pay for its loan from the federal government during the coronavirus pandemic, which was used to cover unemployment benefits.
Not all businesses know about it yet. However, every business that pays unemployment insurance contributions will be hit with it.
The state’s Department of Labor website indicates that the new fee will cost employers about $27.60 more per employee.
Small businesses say that while the number is relatively small – it’s another challenge. “Hundreds of dollars is a lot for a small business,” Marylu Aragosa told CBS6. “We weren’t counting on that extra expense so we may have to lay someone off possibly to pay that extra expense.”
The fee or surcharge was actually enacted long before the coronavirus pandemic. The legislature approved it decades ago to deal with interest should the state ever be faced with that situation.
So far the state has not responded to media requests for clarification on the fee.
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