UI Integrity / Improper Payments Joint Federal/State Task Force

1. UI Integrity / Improper PaymentsJoint Federal/State Task Force State Presentation: WorkForce West Virginia October 25, 2011

2. Areas of National Focus: • Benefit Year Earnings (BYE): Root Causes Identified: • Agency Causes • Staff fails to follow-up with claimant at the time continued claim form is entered even though claimant has filed earnings for several weeks. • Claimant Causes • Main Cause is unreported or incorrect wages reported. • Employer Causes • Employer fails to report correct wages on the partial low earnings claim form or wages reported incorrectly. Employer fails to report claimant to New Hire.

3. Areas of National Focus: • Benefit Year Earnings (BYE): Planned action(s) to address: • Improve Claimant Knowledge through updating current IVR system, generate daily report to assist staff in determining whether claimant has earnings to establish a new Benefit year, perform New Hire cross match cases more frequently, and increase the number of cross match cases. • Implement the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES) to improve quality and timeliness of earnings reported. Principal milestones: • Complete installation of enhanced IVR by 9/30/2012. • Complete daily report by December, 2011. • Complete increase and earlier cross match cases by December, 2011. • Implementation of SIDES completed by 9/30/2012. 3

4. Areas of National Focus: • Separations (SEPs): Root Causes Identified: • Agency Causes • Decisions made without adequate separation information. • Inadequate Fact Finding Statements (Various facts omitted) • Claimant Causes • Failure to report separation information or inadequate separation information. • Employer Causes • Inadequate separation information. • Separation Information not provided. 4

5. Areas of National Focus: • Separations: • Planned action(s) to address: • Provide Deputy training to address policy and procedures pertaining to separation decisions. • Provide Interviewer training to address fact finding statements, policy and procedures for completing a cross match case. • Implement the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES) to improve quality and timeliness of responses from employers to separation information requests. • Principal milestones: • Deputy training will be completed by 8/31/2011. • Interviewer training will be completed by 9/30/2011. • Implementation of SIDES by 9/30/2012. 5

6. Areas of National Focus: • Job Service Registration Issues: Root Causes Identified: • Agency Causes • Identified programming issue which was inactivating claimants after 90 days. • Inability to ensure interstate claimants registered with Job Service within their state • Claimant Causes • Claimants’ marking themselves with an inactive job service status on the WEB. 6

7. Areas of National Focus: • Job Service Registration Issues : • Planned action(s) to address: • Correct program to ensure that all claimants remain active throughout the Claim Series. • New procedure for interstate claimants informing them that they must register for Job Service in their state of residence within six weeks or future benefits will be denied. • Reinstate active status to claimants who inactive themselves through the WEB. • Principal milestones: • Correction to program ensuring all claimants remain active the entire length of their claim completed 8/31/2011. • Procedural change for Interstate Claimants regarding Job Service registration completed by 12/31/2011. 7

8. State-Specific Issues • Issue 1: Collection of Overpayments & Tax Due • Root cause(s) identified: • Claimants neglecting to repay overpayments. • Employers neglecting to pay taxes due. • Planned action(s) to address issue • Refer uncollectible fraud overpayments that involve fraud or unreported benefit year earnings to Treasury Offset Program (TOP). • Principle milestones • Complete implementation of TOP program by 09/30/12.

9. State-Specific Issues • Issue 1: Assure ETA 227 is accurate by passing all overpayment populations in Data Validation Program. • Root cause(s) identified: • Inability to pass populations (12, 13, & 14) included in the Data Validation that relate to the ETA 227. • Planned action(s) to address issue • Work with IT to re-design our Benefit Overpayment System. • Build new extract files for populations 12, 13, & 14. • Load populations into SUN system, review errors, and make necessary adjustments. Correct program logic in system in relationship to ETA 227. • Principle milestones: • Implement re-designed program by 09/30/12.

10. Everybody Owns Integrity • Strategies to Support Owning UI Integrity: • Encourage every staff member …etc. • Develop a training session for interviewers, and deputies to emphasize the concept of “Everybody, Owns Integrity”. Training sessions will be completed by September 30, 2012. • Maintain management oversight…etc. • Develop an internal report that will monitor the performance based on new federal guidelines in UIPL 34-11. Report will be completed by December 31, 2011.

11. Communications • Communications Strategies: • To claimants • Mass mailings to claimant based on dialogue under development by DOL. Completion date of 12/31/11. • Additional emphasis on integrity issues on WEB. Completion date of 12/31/11. • To employers • Mass mailings to employers based on dialogue under development by DOL. Completion date of 12/31/11. • Additional emphasis on integrity issues on WEB. Completion date of 12/31/11.

12. Communications • Communications Strategies, Continued: • To state UI staff • Update managers with general email reminding them that the errors sheets sent to local offices from BAM list procedural errors and should be discussed in weekly staff meetings. Completion date of 12/31/2011. • To the public • Press release notifying public of a 1-800 number to report Fraud. Completion date of 12/31/2011. • To state leaders (Governor, state legislature, etc.) • Include integrity issues on the monthly report to joint committee on government oversight. Completion date is 10/13/11. • Update oversight committee on integrity issues on a quarterly basis. Completion date is next quarterly meeting.

13. Summary and Q&A “Integrity: Own It!” • Questions? • State Contact for follow-up: Connie Kirk: connie.r.kirk@wv.gov Phone: 304/558-3309