Why is the Continue Claim Certification Not Available Online

1099-G Information for Tax Year 2021

Tax form 1099-G (Statement for Recipients of Certain Government Payments) is issued to any individual who received unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for the prior calendar year. For a claimant who received UI benefits in Maryland, the 1099-G reflects the total Maryland UI benefit payment amount that was issued within that calendar year. This may be different from the week of unemployment for which the benefits were paid.

1099-Gs are issued for the prior calendar year. The Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance will post 1099-G forms in BEACON for the 2021 calendar year by January 31, 2022.

If you did not consent to receive your 1099-G tax form only electronically (via BEACON) the form will be sent to you via U.S. mail to the address on file in your BEACON portal. The Division expects to begin mailing the 1099-G tax forms in January 2022 and to complete the task by early February 2022.
The 1099-G will also be available in BEACON 2.0. 1099-Gs are only issued to the individual to whom benefits were paid.

Note: If a claimant moved since filing for UI benefits, the claimant's 1099-G may NOT be forwarded by the United States Postal Service. The Benefit Payment Control unit cannot update the claimant's mailing address. To change the mailing address for the 1099-G, claimants must update their personal information in the BEACON portal , on the MD Unemployment for Claimants mobile app, or by contacting a claims agent at 667-207-6520.
Claimants may request a duplicate paper 1099-G form sent by mail (after 1099-G forms are issued), by emailing the Benefit Payment Control Unit at dlui1099-labor@maryland.gov.

Note: If an individual receives a 1099-G tax form, but did not apply for or receive Maryland UI benefits in 2021, the individual should complete this Affidavit form and email it, along with a copy of a picture ID, to dlui1099-labor@maryland.gov for review.

For additional information about the 1099-G tax form, see the 1099-G Information for Tax Year 2021 FAQs and the IRS page on unemployment compensation.

To learn about FREE tax preparation services, see the CASH Campaign of Maryland web page, and for information about assistance with health care coverage, see the Maryland Health Connection webpage.

Temporary Federal Pandemic UI Programs Ended on September 4, 2021

The temporary, federal unemployment insurance programs (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation Program (MEUC) expired the week ending Saturday, September 4, 2021. No payments of PUA, FPUC, PEUC, or MEUC benefits will be made for any weeks of unemployment ending after September 4, 2021, even if you have a PUA or PEUC balance in your BEACON portal.

Processing of Claims for Weeks Ending on or Before September 4
Claims that include weeks of eligibility that end on or before September 4 will be processed even after the federal programs expire. Claimants will receive benefits for all weeks they are determined to be eligible for, even if a determination of eligibility occurs after September 4. If you are waiting to receive an eligibility determination for any of these four federal programs, the Department will ensure that you receive all payments owed to you for those weeks. If claimants receive an eligibility determination for weeks of regular State unemployment insurance ending before September 4, 2021, that allows them to apply for PUA for any of those weeks, they may do so by calling a live claims agent at 667-207-6520.

Work Search Requirement Reinstated

On Sunday, July 4, Maryland LABOR reinstated the standard active search for work requirement for all claimants receiving regular unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Claimants receiving benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) federal programs must meet the active search for work requirement beginning Sunday, July 18, 2021.

All claimants must actively search for work by completing at least three valid reemployment activities each week, which must include at least one job contact. Claimants must satisfy the active search for work requirement to maintain their eligibility for UI benefits.

Valid reemployment activities are intended to help a claimant become reemployed and remove potential barriers to employment. Qualifying activities include, but are not limited to: activities completed through the Maryland Workforce Exchange (MWE), such as setting up a virtual recruiter or completing a skills self-assessment; attending networking events; creating a résumé in MWE; and attending employment events (e.g., job fairs, hiring events) held by the Maryland Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning (DWDAL). For a full list, see Maryland's Valid Reemployment Activities.

Job contacts refer to actions a claimant takes to contact employers in an attempt to secure employment. Acceptable job contacts include: submitting a job application to an employer (in person, email, online, fax); interviewing for a job; or completing a pre-screening for a job interview; among other actions.

As part of the active search for work requirement, claimants must complete a one-time registration with MWE and submit their completed job contacts and valid reemployment activities each week in the Job Contact and Reemployment Activity log (formerly known as the Work Search Log), located within MWE.

For detailed instructions about MWE registration and submitting job contacts and valid reemployment activities, see the Maryland Work Search Requirements web page, the Job Contact and Reemployment Activity Log video tutorial for using the log.

To learn more about the active search for work requirement, see the Work Search FAQs on the DUI website.

Fraudulent Unemployment Insurance Activity

Report Fraud

With the record number of unemployment insurance claims filed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryland, and states across the entire country, have seen an increase in activity by bad actors and fraudsters using illegally obtained data to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. Please note that there has been NO breach in our BEACON unemployment system.

If you believe that your information has been used to fraudulently file an unemployment insurance claim, please contact the Division of Unemployment Insurance's Benefit Payment Control Unit by completing a "Request for Investigation of Unemployment Insurance Fraud" form and e-mailing it to ui.fraud@maryland.gov.

If you received a 1099-G tax form, but did not apply for unemployment insurance benefits in Maryland in 2020, then please complete this Affidavit form and submit it along with picture ID to the Benefit Payment Control Unit by e-mailing dlui1099-labor@maryland.gov.

If you are an employer and believe a fraudulent claim has been charged to your account, please file a benefit charge protest through your employer portal.

If you believe fraudulent transactions have been made on your Bank of America Debit Card, please contact the Debit Card Customer Service Center at 1-855-847-2029 to file a report and request a replacement card.

Avoid Scams

We have been alerted to a number of potential scam operations that are attempting to prey on unemployment insurance claimants. To help you distinguish between legitimate assistance from Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance (DUI) staff and fraudulent assistance from a potential scammer, please remember the following:

• DUI will never request or require payment for assistance with unemployment insurance, especially not through apps like Venmo or Cashapp.
• DUI staff will not provide assistance to claimants through direct message on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
• DUI will never arrange for an adjudication or fact-finding interview over any teleconferencing platform, such as Zoom, BlueJeans, Google Hangout Meets, or Skype.
• DUI does not provide assistance through text message and will not send any links asking a claimant to verify their account through text.
• DUI will never ask for your bank account number, debit card number, or credit card number over e-mail or on social media
• DUI will never request your BEACON password over e-mail.
• All e-mails from legitimate DUI staff will come from a @maryland.gov e-mail address.
• Do not provide any sensitive information related to your Maryland unemployment insurance claim by e-mail unless it is to a @maryland.gov e-mail address.

Avoid Scams on Social Media

Please be aware of pages and scammers on social media pretending to be the Maryland Department of Labor. Scammers are replicating the Maryland Department of Labor's social media pages, directly messaging claimants, and attempting to steal their identity by asking for their personal information. These pages are particularly targeting members of unemployment groups on Facebook.

Fraudulent pages may look similar, but are newly created, do not have a lengthy history of posts, spelled differently (often with typos), and not verified with a blue check mark. "Maryland department of labour" is an example of a fraudulent page that looks similar, but is spelled differently. If you find a fraudulent page, please report it to the social media platform immediately and DO NOT respond to their messages.

Links to the Maryland Department of Labor's official government agency social media pages can be found below:

• Facebook - Maryland Department of Labor
• Twitter - @MD_Labor
• LinkedIn - Maryland Department of Labor

Identity Theft Resources

If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, please read the Maryland State Police's Identity Theft Protection Quick Guide. For more information about identity theft, please visit the Commissioner of Financial Regulation identity theft page.

BEACON 2.0 System

Overview

The fully modernized BEACON 2.0 unemployment insurance system launched in September 2020 for claimants and for employers.

• Claimant BEACON application
• Employer BEACON application
• Third party agents BEACON application

BEACON 2.0 integrates all benefits, appeals, and tax functions of the unemployment insurance system. BEACON 2.0 replaced a legacy mainframe IT system that was several decades old.

Claimant Portal User Guide and Glossary

The Claimant Portal User Guide and Glossary are available to help unemployment insurance claimants navigate their BEACON accounts, and learn more about the information and features available.

Download the Claimant Mobile App

The BEACON mobile app called "MD Unemployment for Claimants" is available to download for free from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store. The mobile app allows claimants to easily file their weekly claim certifications, view and update claimant information, and more directly from their mobile device. To download the app in the iOS App Store, please visit https://bit.ly/AppleMDBEACON. To download the app in the Google Play Store, please visit https://bit.ly/GoogleMDBEACON.

Need Help?

For questions regarding BEACON 2.0, call an agent at 667-207-6520.

Features

The new BEACON 2.0 system offers dozens of new features and will greatly improve the user experience for both claimants and employers. Check out the new functionalities and upgraded features below:

New Features for Claimants

Claimants will now be able to:

• Receive immediate updates regarding their claim status, including up-to-date information about their eligibility
• Retrieve correspondence and other claimant information
• Review benefit payment history
• Respond to fact-finding requests (as required) for additional information
• Submit supporting documents for Adjudication or Appeals
• File appeals
• Track and pay overpayments
• Use reemployment services
• Maintain their portal account

Existing Features for Claimants

Claimants will still be able to:

• Access their unemployment insurance claim 24 hours / 7 days per week
• File initial claims for all program types:
• Regular UI
• Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE)
• Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX)
• Combined Wage Claim (CWC) - Maryland and Out-of-State Claim
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
• Extended Benefits (EB)
• Workshare Claimants
• Trade Claimants
• File weekly claim certifications
• Update Account details
• Name
• Address
• E-mail
• Update requests for Tax withholding
• Mobile App
• Review benefit payment history

New Features for Employers

Employers will now be able to:

• Submit required reports and information
• Update their account information such as address, contact, and ownership
• Access their tax rate and other UI-related information
• Submit wage reports and pay contributions
• Submit adjustments to previously filed wage reports
• Respond to Requests for Separation information
• File an Appeal
• Submit supporting documents for Appeals or Adjudication
• View all correspondence generated by the system
• Set up an agent to manage their account
• Get assistance by contacting the new employer/agent call center at 410-949-0033 (starting Monday, September 21, 2020)
• Mobile App coming soon

New Features for Third Party Agents

Agents will now be able to:

• Submit a power of attorney online and access their customer's account based on their privileges granted by the power of attorney
• File wage reports on behalf of their clients
• Make contribution payments on behalf of their clients
• File Appeals on behalf of their clients
• Obtain rate information for their clients
• Get assistance by contacting the new employer/agent call center at 410-949-0033 (starting Monday, September 21, 2020)

BEACON Claimant Tutorial Videos

BEACON Employers and Third Party Agents Tutorial Videos

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Source: https://www.dllr.state.md.us/employment/unemployment.shtml

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