Business Representatives Oppose Proposed Federal Monitoring of State Workers’ Compensation
Business representatives from 91 state and national business associations and employers submitted a letter on October 19, 2021 to the House and Senate in opposition to the inclusion of federal monitoring of state workers’ compensation. State workers’ compensation was created beginning more than 100 years ago in state constitutions and state statutes. State workers’ compensation is regulated by state insurance [...]
House Democrats Include Federal Monitoring of State Workers’ Compensation in Education and Labor Committee Vote for FY 2022 Budget Reconciliation
On September 10, 2021, the House Ed and Labor Committee voted to approve language proposed for inclusion in the FY 2022 budget reconciliation bill that would provide authority to the US Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) for “monitoring of State workers’ compensation programs”. See untitled (house.gov) page 115 lines 4-5 and amendments at untitled (house.gov)There is [...]
US DOL Grants Available to States to Promote Equitable UI Application
On August 17, 2021, the US DOL ETA released UI PL 23-21 detailing the availability of up to $260 million in funding for activities that promote equitable access to UC programs, which include eliminating administrative barriers to benefit application, reducing state workload backlogs, improving the timeliness of UC payments to eligible individuals, and ensuring equity in fraud prevention, detection, and [...]
Interest Due September 30, 2021 on State UI Loans
The temporary waiver of interest on state unemployment trust fund loans provided in Section 4103 in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is ending September 6, 2021, leaving states with remaining loan balances responsible to pay daily interest through September 30, 2021. As of September 2, 2021 the states with outstanding loan balances included CA, CO, IL, MN, NJ. NY, [...]
US Treasury and US DOL Permit ARPA Funds to be Used for Expanded Unemployment Benefits after September 6th
On Thursday, August 19, 2021 the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. Secretary of Labor informed congressional leadership that states could use some of their shares of ARPA funds to further extend expanded unemployment compensation and assistance. Download the PDF here and read the article here. The letter outlines specific steps that the federal agencies are taking. First, [...]
US DOL Begins UI Modernization Assistance under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
On August 11, 2021 the US Department of Labor released a series of documents describing how it intends to use the $2 billion in funds to assist with UI Modernization and addressing Fraud in the UI system. These funds were part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that responded to systems and integrity needs that impacted the UI [...]