UWC urges Congress to Address UI Trust Fund Solvency – Join this Request!
In a letter dated July 24, 2020, UWC urged Congress to address UI Solvency issues with four specific provisions that should be enacted to reduce the tremendous financing burden on employers and state unemployment trust funds caused by COVID-19 closures. The request includes the following: Provide for a transfer of federal funds to state UI trust funds equal to the [...]
US DOL Addresses PUA Integrity in Updated Q and A
On July 21, 2020 the U.S. Department of Labor released Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 16-20 Change 2. The UIPL seeks to answer a number of questions posed by states in the administration of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program and also addresses integrity issues that have been raised by the Office of Inspector General, employers, states and UWC. The [...]
UI Taxes Are Going Up due to the COVID-19 Recession
Attention is needed to Charging and Rates Many State UI agencies had difficulty managing the dramatic increases in unemployment compensation claims arising from lay-offs and the recession. Just as states are catching up with UI benefit payment issues, many are also having difficulty matching charges with employer accounts. The additional $600 payment required under Section 2104 of the CARES Act [...]
Congress Enacts (S. 4209) to Provide Benefit Charging Procedure Relief for Reimbursing Employers
On July 9, 2020 the US House or Representatives passed S. 4209 by unanimous consent to provide a much-needed fix to help reimbursing employers manage the required payments in lieu of contributions charged to their accounts for unemployment compensation. The passage came after the US Senate had also passed the bill by unanimous consent. This remarkable bi-partisan action by both [...]
What Comments Were Filed on CMS Proposed Civil Monetary Penalty Rules and When Will CMS Respond ?
Many comments were submitted in response to proposed rules released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on February 18, 2020. There has been very little communication from CMS about how it plans to respond to the comments. The process of developing rules goes back to December of 2013 with the first rules proposal that was met with [...]
UWC Opposes Longshore Workers’ Comp Presumption for COVID in HEROES Act
On Monday, June 8, 2020, UWC submitted a letter of opposition to the House and Senate Committees with jurisdiction concerning Title V Section 120501 of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) as it was passed by the House of Representatives. The letter was submitted to assure that the committees with jurisdiction over the Longshore Act [...]