(a) Section 2651 of Public Law 98-369 (the Deficit Reduction Act of
1984) amended title XI of the Social Security Act to include a
requirement that States have an income and eligibility verification
system in effect which would be used in verifying eligibility for, and
the amount of, benefits available under several Federally assisted
programs including the Federal-State unemployment compensation program.
The Act requires that employers in each State make quarterly wage
reports to a State agency, which may be the State unemployment
compensation agency, and that wage information and benefit information
obtained from other agencies be used in verifying eligibility for
benefits. The requirement of quarterly wage reporting may be waived if
the Secretary of Labor (in consultation with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture) determines the State
has in effect an alternative system which is as effective and timely as
quarterly wage reporting for the purposes of providing employment
related income and eligibility data.
(b) Section 2651(d) of Public Law 98-396 added a new section 303(f)
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(f)), to provide that the
agency charged with the administration of the State unemployment
compensation law shall provide that information shall be requested and
exchanged for purposes of income and eligibility verification in
accordance with a State system which meets the requirements of section
1137 of the Social Security Act, as added by Public Law 98-369. The
regulations in this part are issued to implement this requirement.
