Republican Leaders Introduce Bill to Avoid Unemployment Fraud and Recover Overpayments
On June 9, 2022, US House Republican Leadership announced legislation to improve the financing and systems used to address UI fraud, benefit integrity and overpayment recovery. The “Chase COVID Unemployment Fraud Act of 2022” includes the following provisions. Incentivizes states to recover fraudulent unemployment payments. • Allows states to retain 25 percent of federal funds recovered from federal COVID unemployment programs. [...]
States Planning to Reduce Employer Tax Burden from the Pandemic
The first quarter state UI contributions have been received for the most part, enabling states to increase state UI trust fund account balances, and pay off or pay down unemployment trust fund account loan balances. For states with outstanding loan balances there remains an amount of interest to be paid that is due on September 30, 2022. See https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/tfmp/tfmp_advactivitiessched.htm Interest Payment [...]
Biden Administration Reviewing Proposal to Insert CMS advice into workers’ comp and liability case settlements
On March 1, 2022, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs released notice of its review of the CMS proposed rule that would “ensure that Medicare beneficiaries are making the best health care choices possible by providing them and their representatives with the opportunity to select an option for meeting future medical obligations that fits their individual circumstances, while also [...]
Rep. Danny Davis (D – IL) introduces Bill to Waive Interest on Federal Unemployment Loans
On March 3, 2022, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL) introduced the Continued Waiver of Interest on State Unemployment Loans during the Pandemic Act. This legislation would extend the waiver of interest payments on federal unemployment loans. Congress previously waived the interest on unemployment loans under Section 4103 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ127/PLAW-116publ127.pdf, and extended the waiver through September 6, 2021. However, many [...]
USDOL Seeks to Broaden Pandemic Benefit Overpayment Waivers – Administrative Challenges
On February 7, 2022, the US Department of Labor released UI-PL 20-21, Change 1 To provide additional instructions for circumstances under which a state may waive recovery of overpayments under the CARES Act Unemployment Compensation (UC) programs, including elaborating on the criteria for waiving recovery of overpayments where an individual is without fault on an individual, case-by-case basis and expanding [...]
US Supreme Court Vaccination Decisions Impact on Unemployment Compensation
Two US Supreme Court decisions recently addressed the question of whether federal agencies had authority to require that individuals be vaccinated. In one decision the court addressed the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to require employers with 100 or more employees to require their employees to be vaccinated. In the second decision the Court addressed the [...]