OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 116 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 116’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Sens. Lang and Romanchuk
Effective date:
Kelly Bomba, Attorney CORRECTED VERSION
SUMMARY
Raises the taxable wage base used for calculating employer contributions under Ohio’s
Unemployment Compensation Law from $9,000 to $9,500, beginning on January 1,
2024.
Eliminates, for benefit years beginning on or after the bill’s effective date, the
dependency class caps for weekly unemployment benefit amount determinations and
makes the maximum weekly benefit amount an individual may receive 50% of the
individual’s average weekly wage, up to 50% of the statewide average weekly wage.
Reduces, for benefit years beginning on and after the bill’s effective date, the maximum
number of weeks for which an individual may receive unemployment benefits in a
benefit year from 26 weeks to a range of 12 to 20 weeks, based on the unemployment
rate in Ohio at the time the initial application is filed.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Taxable wage base increase
The bill increases the taxable wage base used for calculating employer contributions
under Ohio’s Unemployment Compensation Law from $9,000 to $9,500, beginning on January
1, 2024.1
Ohio’s unemployment compensation system consists of two types of employers:
contributory employers, who are mostly private sector employers who pay contributions into
Corrects an error in the discussion of how maximum weekly unemployment benefit amounts are
calculated under current law.
1 R.C. 4141.01(G).
May 25, 2023
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
the Unemployment Compensation Fund (the fund from which unemployment benefits are
paid), and reimbursing employers, who are mostly public sector employers and certain
nonprofits who reimburse the fund when benefits are paid. With respect to contributory
employers, to determine the amount of the employer’s contribution, the Director of Job and
Family Services determines the employer’s contribution rate and applies it in the following
calendar year to the wages of each of the employer’s employees. But contributions are payable
on employee wages only up to the “taxable wage base,” which is currently $9,000. Wages paid
by an employer to a particular employee in excess of the taxable wage base are not subject to
contribution.2
Dependency class cap elimination
For benefit years beginning on or after the bill’s effective date, the bill eliminates
dependency classes for weekly unemployment benefit amount determinations and generally
makes the maximum weekly benefit amount an individual may receive 50% of the statewide
average weekly wage (SAWW). Under continuing law, an individual’s “benefit year” is generally
the 52-week period beginning with the first day of the week with respect to which the
individual first files a valid application for determination of benefit rights (the first step in
applying for unemployment benefits that determines whether the individual has worked long
enough in covered employment and earned enough to qualify for unemployment benefits).3
Under continuing law, weekly benefit amounts are 50% of an individual’s average
weekly wage during the individual’s base period up to a statutory maximum. Current law
statutory maximums are adjusted each year for each dependency class by the percentage
increase in the SAWW between the current year and the preceding year. However, the
maximum weekly benefit adjustment is capped based on the number of allowable dependents
claimed as follows:
If an individual has no dependents, 50% of the SAWW ($574 in 2023).
If an individual has one or two dependents, 60% of the SAWW ($689 in 2023).
If an individual has three or more dependents, 662⁄3% of the SAWW ($765 in 2023).
For 2023, the adjusted maximum weekly benefit amounts determined by the
percentage increase in the SAWW did not exceed the caps discussed above, thus the current
maximum weekly benefit amounts for 2023 are as follows:
If an individual has no dependents, $561.
If an individual has one or two dependents, $680.
If an individual has three or more dependents, $765.
2R.C. 4141.01(G) and (L); R.C. 4141.241, 4141.242, and 4141.25, not in the bill; and Ohio Administrative
Code 4141-9-01.
3 R.C. 4141.01(R).
P a g e |2 S.B. 116
As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Continuing law requires the Director to determine the SAWW each year based on the
average weekly earnings of all workers in employment subject to Ohio’s Unemployment
Compensation Law during the preceding 12-month period ending June 30.4
For example, suppose Fred had an average weekly wage of $1,200. Under current law, if
Fred has no dependents, Fred’s weekly benefit amount is $561. This is because 50% of Fred’s
average weekly wage is $600, which is greater than the allowed maximum for someone who
does not have dependents. If Fred has one or two dependents, or three or more dependents,
Fred’s weekly benefit amount would be $600, because 50% of Fred’s average weekly wage
($600) is less than the maximum amount payable ($680 for one to two dependents, $757 for
three or more dependents).5
Under the bill, Fred’s weekly benefit amount is $574, regardless of the number of
dependents. This is because 50% of Fred’s average weekly wage, $600, is greater than 50% of
the SAWW.
Maximum benefit weeks
The bill reduces, for benefit years beginning on and after the bill’s effective date, the
maximum number of weeks for which an individual may receive unemployment benefits in a
benefit year from 26 weeks to a range of 12 to 20 weeks, based on Ohio’s unemployment rate.
The bill requires the Director to determine the maximum number of weeks an individual may
receive unemployment benefits based on the adjusted unemployment rate that applies to the
six-month period during which the application for benefit rights is filed as follows:
Adjusted unemployment rate Maximum number of weeks
5.5% or below 12
Greater than 5.5% to 6% 13
Greater than 6% to 6.5% 14
Greater than 6.5% to 7% 15
Greater than 7% to 7.5% 16
4 R.C. 4141.30 and 4141.02, with conforming changes in R.C. 4141.01(R)(3), 4141.29, 4141.43, and
4141.53; Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, How Ohio’s Unemployment Insurance Benefit
Amounts Are Calculated (PDF), which may be accessed by clicking on “How UI Benefits Are Calculated”
on the Department of Job and Family Services’ unemployment website: jfs.ohio.gov/.
5See page 19 of the Workers’ Guide to Unemployment Insurance, which may be accessed by conducting
a keyword “workers guide to unemployment” search on the Department of Job and Family Services
website: jfs.ohio.gov, and clicking on the link for “Unemployed Workers – More Information.”
P a g e |3 S.B. 116
As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Adjusted unemployment rate Maximum number of weeks
Greater than 7.5% to 8% 17
Greater than 8% to 8.5% 18
Greater than 8.5% to 9% 19
Greater than 9% 20
To determine the adjusted unemployment rate in effect for January 1 to June 30 of each
year, the Director must average Ohio’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rates, as determined
by the U.S. Department of Labor, for the immediately preceding months of July, August, and
September. To determine the adjusted unemployment rate in effect for July 1 to December 31
of each year, the bill requires the Director to average Ohio’s seasonally adjusted unemployment
rates, as determined by the Department, for the immediately preceding months of January,
February, and March.
Under current law, an individual is entitled to receive benefits for 20 weeks for the first
20 qualifying weeks of employment in the individual’s base period. One additional benefit week
is added for each qualifying week above 20 weeks, up to a maximum of 26 total benefit weeks.
Continuing law prohibits the total benefits an individual may receive from exceeding an amount
equal to the maximum number of weeks an individual may receive unemployment benefits
times the individual’s weekly benefit amount.6
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 04-26-23
ANSB0116IN-1-135/ts
6 R.C. 4141.30(F) and (G).
P a g e |4 S.B. 116
As Introduced
Statutes affected: As Introduced: 4141.01, 4141.29, 4141.30, 4141.43, 4141.53