Massachusetts has consistently ranked dead last in the nation for unemployment insurance taxes.

The Massachusetts unemployment insurance system currently has some of the laxest eligibility requirements and most generous benefits in the nation.

While other states used billions of dollars in federal aid to shore-up their UI Trust Funds, Massachusetts lawmakers opted to only provide $500 million, a fraction of what was needed. Now, small businesses’ UI bills include a COVID-19 assessment to repay $2.7 Billion in loans from pandemic-related layoffs. These new charges will be in addition to the COVID 19 assessments on UI bills that cover the loan repayment for pandemic-related layoffs that were beyond employers’ control.

The Commonwealth was targeted by UI fraudsters because of our high benefit payout. Regulators have failed to put an actual dollar amount on fraud and overpayments within the system, instead leaving employers to cover the cost.

Finally, state administrators made a $2.5 billion mistake, and rather than the state using rainy day funds to pay for it, now expect business owners to pay for an additional $2.1 billion in their UI bills over the next decade.

For too long, Beacon Hill kicked the can down the road, avoiding necessary reforms to our broken UI system. Rather than use state money to pay for pandemic debt, they relied on an employer assessment. Instead of owning their $2.1 billion mistake, they are passing the buck to overwhelmed employers to pick up the tab. Enough is enough, the state broke the UI system…the state should fix it.