Disaster Unemployment Assistance Available through Unemployment Insurance Agencies
In addition to assistance that may otherwise be available directly through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, State unemployment insurance, labor and workforce agencies administer disaster unemployment assistance (DUA) for individuals who have become unemployed due to a disaster emergency declaration by the President. DUA applications may be available for individuals through state agencies to provide support payments in impacted states. [...]
Striking Workers’ are Not Eligible for Unemployment Compensation
Recent proposals in some states and the current strike announced by the International Longshore Workers once again raises the question as to whether striking workers who are not available for work may be paid unemployment compensation. Federal law is clear that individuals who are not available for work during a week in which they are otherwise unemployed and eligible for [...]
Senators Wyden, Crapo Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Address UI Fraud Prosecution, Benefit Accessibility and Waiver of Overpayments
On July 10, 2024, the Chair and ranking member of the US Senate Committee on Finance, Senators Wyden (D-OR) and Crapo (R-ID), introduced bi-partisan legislation, the Unemployment Insurance Integrity and Accessibility Act. The committee press release with links to the section-by-section summary and legislative language is shown below. The bill extends the period during which civil and criminal actions may [...]
Representatives Steel and Tenney Introduce Legislation to Protect Small Businesses from FUTA Tax Increases
On May 23rd Representatives Steel and Tenney Introduced legislation to provide relief from Federal Unemployment Tax triggered increases on employers with employment in states with outstanding federal unemployment insurance loans. California and New York are two states in which the Federal Unemployment Tax net rate will increase again for 2024 (along with the Virgin Islands). Employers in Connecticut are also [...]
CMS Releases Updated Guidance for Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Reporting and Reviews
On April 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new detailed guidance for reporting workers’ compensation settlements involving individuals who are Medicare eligible. See NGHP User Guide | CMS. As part of a series of new detailed guidance, CMS provided specifics with respect to the information required by CMS when a workers’ compensation settlement is submitted for [...]
GAO Reports $44 billion in UI improper payments in 2023: New UI Improper Payment Methodology Needed
On March 26, 2024,the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its improper payment report with an estimate of $44 billion in improper payments in the Unemployment Insurance program for 2023. The US Department of Labor reported a combined improper and unknown payment rate of 22.2 percent for the Unemployment Insurance program in fiscal year 2022, which exceeded the 10 percent threshold [...]