Supplemental unemployment benefit plans (SUB plans) provide compensation to employees beyond state unemployment insurance during layoff periods. When designed correctly, SUB plans can ease the financial stress of layoffs, generate peace of mind and worker loyalty, and offer significant tax advantages compared to severance pay.
SUB plans are particularly well suited for contractors that are subject to prevailing wage rules as the plans can be funded with fringe benefit payments required under the Davis-Bacon Act or state prevailing wage regulations.
Background
SUB plans “originated in response to organized labor’s claims during the 1950s that state unemployment benefits were insufficient to aid employees during periods of layoffs.”1 Organized labor groups wanted to exclude supplemental unemployment benefits from the definition of wages because a worker’s receipt of wages triggered the cessation of state unemployment benefits.
Therefore, by classifying supplemental unemployment benefits as something other than wages, laid-off workers would be eligible to receive both state unemployment benefits and supplemental unemployment benefits. Furthermore, because supplemental unemployment benefits are not wages, tax consequences attach differently, thereby providing planning opportunities to contractors.