To announce a comprehensive and strategic approach to deploying remaining Unemployment Insurance (UI) modernization funds to strengthen the integrity of the UI system.  This Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) announces three new funding opportunities to strengthen program integrity and resiliency, as well as an opportunity for states to participate in a National ID Verification Offering for both online and in-person ID verification services.

To initiate the FY 2024 SQSP process and define additional requirements relevant to the FY.

This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) informs State Workforce Agencies (SWA), partnering agencies, employers, and other stakeholders of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the extension, with revisions, of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) information collection under OMB Control number 1205-0371. Additionally, this TEGL provides clarification on the use of ETA Form 9198, Employer Representative Declaration Form, for employers to authorize a third-party representative to act on their behalf to manage WOTC certification requests.

To transmit the subject computation for State Workforce Agency usage in computing minimum weekly DUA amounts for all major disasters declared from July 1 – September 30, 2023, (fourth quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2023).

To encourage state, local, and community workforce development grantees to partner with agencies that administer SNAP to provide access to work and job training for individuals whose SNAP benefits are time-limited.

This guidance clarifies and compares the variety of training and other services available to states and local workforce areas under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) with the goal of improving training outcomes across all populations served, particularly those with barriers to employment and underserved populations. The guidance also addresses operational questions related to implementing certain types of training.

To provide information to outlying areas (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Republic of Palau, and U.S. Virgin Islands) on submitting a single application for WIOA title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities program allotments for PY 2023.

To provide program guidance for the development, management, and delivery of workforce and labor market information (WLMI) funded through the Workforce and Labor Market Information Grants to States (WIGS).

To notify states of the availability of funding for UI modernization, with a focus on improving the flexibility of IT systems through modular and evidence-driven approaches. This funding includes up to $600 million for states to support UI IT modernization activities and up to $53 million for states to participate in ARPA program activities offered by the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) related to IT modernization, under a single grant award.

To notify State Workforce Agencies (SWA) of a new access requirement impacting recipient organization users of Treasury’s ASAP system.

To temporarily re-open the application period for states, which did not submit prior applications, to apply for UI equity grants described in UIPL No. 23-21 for activities eliminating administrative barriers to benefit application, reducing state workload backlogs, improving the timeliness of unemployment compensation (UC) payments to eligible individuals, and ensuring equity in fraud prevention, detection, and recovery activities. This UIPL also announces the opportunity for all states to receive amounts in addition to their original allocation described in Attachment I to UIPL No. 23-21.

This Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) is to inform states regarding the availability of additional funding to support states’ participation and correspondence with the U.S. Department of Labor (Department), Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA’s) outreach efforts regarding ongoing CARES Act program activity, commonly referred to as ETA’s “well-defined ask”.  

To notify states that participated in the Tiger Team consultative assessment under UIPL No. 02-22 or that expressed interest to participate in the Tiger Teams consultative assessment by the required March 31, 2023, deadline, of the availability of additional grant funds to further support implementation of negotiated recommendations and to announce a modification to the grant application and award process in an effort to streamline the states’ receipt of the funds.

To provide guidance for the Department of Labor’s (Department) Fiscal Year (FY)2023 Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending recipients specified in Appendix I.

To convey National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) grant allotments for Program Year (PY) 2023 and provide instructions for submission of required documents for grant application and performance negotiations for NFJP Career Services and Training grants and Housing grants. Additionally, this guidance includes application instructions for grantees that wish to apply for additional PY 2023 NFJP Youth Grant Funding.

To provide SCSEP state, territorial, and national grantees with the PY 2023 SCSEP allotments and the application instructions for PY 2023 grant submissions.  This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) will also provide guidance regarding Minority Report submissions in the Program Narrative for this year.  

To inform State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) of the release of a new toolkit published on WorkforceGPS under the UI Community of Practice (COP). This toolkit, created as part of American Rescue Plan Act UI Modernization, provides SWAs with actionable solutions for common and emerging issues related to equitable access to unemployment compensation (UC) programs.

To provide clarification of program instructions, Attachment I and revised PDF and Excel versions of Attachment II to TEGL 23-19, Change 1, Guidance for Validating Required Performance Data Submitted by Grant Recipients of U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Workforce Programs, issued on October 25, 2022.

This guidance informs the workforce system of clarifications made to the instructions for the Training Expenditures line item on some of the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) financial reports (ETA-9130) and shares information regarding the transition of ETA’s quarterly financial reporting to the U.S. Health and Human Services Payment Management System (PMS).

This guidance supersedes Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 11-19, published February 6, 2020, and developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education (the Departments). Through this updated guidance, the Departments:  

• Revise their approach to using the statistical adjustment model for the purpose of assessing state performance; 
• Clarify the implementation of potential financial sanctions for consecutive performance failures occurring across multiple State Plan periods; and 
• Clarify that states can be sanctioned up to 10 percent of the Governor’s Reserve Allotment if there is consecutive performance failure and a failure to report for the same program year.

This guidance also continues to delineate the process for negotiating levels of performance, as required by section 116(b)(3)(A)(iv) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and explains the two instances in which a state may be sanctioned, namely for performance failure or for failure to report (section 116(f) of WIOA).