The last two issues of the UI Quarterly News introduced you to the State Unemployment Program E-government Resource (SUPER) system. Key elements of the SUPER system have been discussed, as well as their impact on you, the employer. The SUPER system is an advanced system of software and hardware that is a core component of an even larger undertaking, the genesis Project. This project is designed to deliver improved services to our customers through the re-engineering of business processes and technological advances.

The implementation of the SUPER system began over a year ago, and components have been released in several phases. While the phases that have been released so far have had little effect on employers’ day-to-day activities with Unemployment Insurance (UI) Operations, the Tax release will have a major impact on how you conduct business with us. The Tax release is slated for 2004.

The intent of the newsletter is to provide information about elements of the genesis Project and the impact those elements may have on employers.

As part of the genesis Project, employers gain better access to account information and are afforded the opportunity to make immediate changes to business status as well as address information via the Internet. Your personal identification number (PIN) helps ensure security when accessing and updating account information. Notification of the PIN and details on its use will be mailed before implementation.

A new tax-and-wage report will be introduced with the Tax release of the SUPER system. The new format will include a payment coupon that will have the required tax information. The wage section of the report will have 19 lines per page to record employee wage information (currently there are 14 lines per page).

When the new tax-and-wage reports are implemented, the employer will be required to use the forms provided by the UI Program. Because of the potential difficulty this creates for some employers, the UI Program is exploring alternative methods of filing tax-and-wage reports. Employers are advised to continue filing tax-and-wage reports as usual until notified to file in a different manner.

UI Operations anticipates that employers will have questions and comments related to the genesis Project and the SUPER system. Therefore, a new e-mail address has been established specifically for such inquiries. The new genesis Employer e-mail address is uiemployerinquiry@state.co.us.

For faster service, please continue to use the e-mail address unemp.tax@state.co.us for non-SUPER-related inquiries and for tax issues related to your account.

In accordance with the Colorado Employment Security Act (CESA) 8-76-102 (5)(a), the calendar-year 2004 combined rate will include a solvency tax surcharge. The solvency tax surcharge is added to the standard or computed tax rate when the UI Trust Fund balance, on June 30 of any year, is equal to, or less than nine-tenths of one percent of the total wages reported by all ratable Colorado employers for the calendar year, or the four-consecutive quarters prior to the last computation date. As a result of the UI Trust Fund balance decrease, the solvency tax surcharge will be triggered on for calendar year 2004. Please note that the tax rate schedule will change due to the decrease in the UI Trust Fund balance. As soon as the new tax-rate schedule is established, you will receive notification via Form UITR-7, Employer’s Tax Rate Notice. The new tax rate schedule will also be posted on our Web site. Please refer to Form UITR-80, Notice of Solvency Tax Surcharge, which you should have received previously. It has detailed information regarding the solvency tax surcharge to take effect in 2004. This form is also posted on our website. If you wish to obtain a paper copy of Form UITR-80, Notice of Solvency Tax Surcharge, please contact UI Operations with your request.

The SUPER system reflects recent technological advances in business operations. As such, the SUPER system utilizes the power and convenience of the Internet. While you can continue to file paper reports, we encourage you to file your quarterly tax-and-wage report online at www.coloradoworkforce.com. Several advantages to using this method include:

How does the conversion to SUPER affect the employer? – The SUPER system enables more efficient maintenance of UI accounts and gives employers easier access to account information. In addition to the current capability to update address information via the Internet, the SUPER system also gives the employer the ability to update business status.

Will the SUPER system allow contact with customer-service representatives? – Yes. The interactive-voice-response (IVR) system is a key component of SUPER that ensures phone calls from employers and claimants are routed promptly and efficiently. Also, employers can contact UI Operations via two e-mail addresses. They can continue to use the established e-mail address, unemp.tax@state.co.us, for comments and questions regarding employer accounts. In addition, a new address, uiemployerinquiry@state.co.us, has been established specifically for questions and comments that are related to the genesis Project and the SUPER system. This new e-mail address will be available during the transition to full implementation of the genesis Project.

To contact us, call 303-318-9100 (Denver-metro area) or 1-800-480-8299 (outside Denver-metro area). For tax questions and issues related specifically to your account, send e-mail inquiries to unemp.tax@state.co.us. Direct questions and comments related to the genesis Project and the SUPER system to uiemployerinquiry@state.co.us.

For questions relating to the Colorado Employment Security Act or Regulations Concerning Employment Security, please send e-mails to uistaffservices@state.co.us.