Unemployment Insurance Webinar Answered Questions on Trust Fund, Expanding Benefits

April 23, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

Unemployment Insurance Webinar Answered Questions on Trust Fund, Expanding Benefits

As they have done before, top officials from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) joined NFIB members on a webinar (video below) to answer some of the pressing questions about the condition of the state’s unemployment insurance system. Daniel Chase, CDLE chief of staff, and Phil Spesshardt, CDLE director of unemployment, apprised NFIB members about the UI Trust Fund and discussed a legislative proposal to give $35 per week, per dependent to UI beneficiaries. Chase opened with the latest on the state’s remaining UI loan debt with the federal government. “We wanted to clear that federal debt by November 10. To clear that, we took on private debt, a loan from Bank of America to the tune of $33 million. That covered that gap, so we then had no federal debt between November 10 and January 1, so the FUTA credit for all employers stayed intact for this year, which is great.” Chase used the chart below to highlight other key points in his presentation.

Another important topic of discussion was House Bill 23-1078, one of two UI measures this session of the Legislature (see box below), which calls for giving UI beneficiaries an extra $35 a week per dependent. NFIB members were delighted to hear Chase’s response that “The department has opposed that bill because we are not comfortable opening up any new trust fund money while we’re still heavily in debt.” Doing so would delay solvency by several years, Chase added.

Other highlights from the webinar came during the question-and-answer period when Doug Holmes, president of Unemployment and Workers’ Compensation Strategies, asked some detailed questions, and Diana Petrak, NFIB’s new Leadership Council Chair, inquired about audits and classification. “This was the most informative webinar we’ve done,” said NFIB Colorado State Director Tony Gagliardi. “I highly encourage small-business owners to listen to all 44 minutes. I guarantee they’ll come away better informed on a topic they must deal with all the time. I also want to thank Daniel Chase and Phil Spesshardt from the department for, once again, taking the time to meet with our members. It is always very appreciated.” Click the arrow below to begin.