UIPL_20-21_acc.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY SYSTEM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Washington D.C. 20210 CLASSIFICATION Unemployment Insurance CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL OUI DPM DATE May 5 2021 ADVISORY UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 20-21 TO STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES FROM SUZAN G. LEVINE s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary SUBJECT State Instructions for Assessing Fraud Penalties and Processing Overpayment Waivers under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act as Amended 1. Purpose. To advise states of appropriate circumstances for assessing a monetary fraud penalty and for assessing interest and other collection costs on benefit overpayments created under the CARES Act Public Law Pub. L. 116-136 as amended and to provide instructions for circumstances under which a state may waive recovery of overpayments including limited circumstances for permissible use of blanket waivers. 2. Action Requested. The Department of Labor s Department Employment and Training Administration ETA requests State Workforce Administrators provide the information contained in this Unemployment Insurance Program Letter UIPL to appropriate program and other staff in state workforce systems as they implement the unemployment insurance UI -related provisions that respond to the economic effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 COVID-19 pandemic. 3. Summary and Background. a. Summary This UIPL describes the requirements for establishing benefit overpayments for programs authorized by the CARES Act as amended. Section 4.c. of this UIPL provides guidance to states regarding the assessment of fraud monetary penalties reiterates guidance recently provided for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA program and supersedes guidance previously provided regarding the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation FPUC Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation MEUC and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC programs. States are instructed to not assess interest and other collection costs for CARES Act programs. This UIPL also provides guidance to states regarding the assessment of fraud monetary penalties interest and other collection costs for the first week of regular unemployment compensation UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act. RESCISSIONS EXPIRATION DATE None Continuing 2 Section 4.d. of this UIPL describes the eligibility criteria for waiving recovery of an overpayment including a federal definition of equity and good conscience that may be applied to overpayments under PUA FPUC MEUC PEUC and the first week of regular UC reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act. In Section 4.d.iii. of this UIPL the Department provides limited circumstances under the CARES Act when a state may process blanket waivers of overpayments. Additionally after a state determines that recovery of an overpayment is waived it must refund any amounts that were collected towards the applicable overpayment prior to the determination of waiver eligibility. It may take some time e.g. up to a year for states to process such refunds and states are encouraged to contact the Department for technical assistance. Attachment I to this UIPL provides a quick reference that summarizes the guidelines regarding the establishment and recovery of overpayments across unemployment benefit programs. b. Background On March 27 2020 the CARES Act was enacted. Among other provisions the CARES Act provided for the creation of three new UC programs PUA FPUC and PEUC. Section 2105 of the CARES Act also provided full federal funding for the first week of regular UC for states with no waiting week. The Department issued UIPL No. 14-20 on April 2 2020 to provide a summary of the key UI provisions in the CARES Act. On December 27 2020 the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act Continued Assistance Act was enacted under Division N Title II Subtitle A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 Pub. L. 116-260 . This Act extended to March 14 2021 the PUA and PEUC programs as well as federal funding for the first week of regular UC at a reduced amount of 50 percent beyond their original expiration date of December 31 2020. The FPUC program which expired July 31 2020 was reauthorized to resume at 300 for weeks of unemployment beginning after December 26 2020. The Continued Assistance Act also permits a state to waive repayment of a PUA overpayment under certain circumstances. Additionally the Continued Assistance Act provided for the creation of a fourth new UC program MEUC. The Department issued UIPL No. 09- 21 on December 30 2020 to provide a summary of the key UI provisions in the Continued Assistance Act. On March 11 2021 the American Rescue Plan Act ARPA was enacted Pub. L. 117-2 . This Act extended the PUA PEUC FPUC and MEUC programs to weeks of unemployment ending on or before September 6 2021 and restored full federal funding for the first week of regular UC. The Department issued UIPL No. 14-21 on March 15 2021 to provide guidance to states regarding the UI provisions in ARPA. In March 2020 states signed the Agreement Implementing the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act Agreement with the Department to administer PUA PEUC and FPUC as well as to receive reimbursement for the first week of regular UC for states with no waiting week. The Agreement incorporates amendments to the CARES Act made by the Continued Assistance Act and ARPA. Many states also signed an 3 addendum to administer the MEUC program in January 2021. Under these agreements each state is required to operate the programs as required by any statutory amendments and the Department s guidance. Importance of Program Integrity. Addressing improper payments and fraud is a top priority for the Department and the entire UI system. States play a fundamental role in ensuring the integrity of the UI system. Especially during this time of extraordinary workloads states should maintain a steadfast focus on UI functions and activities that ensure program integrity and the prevention and detection of improper payments and fraud across all programs operated within the UI system while ensuring that as many legitimate claimants as possible are able to swiftly access benefits during a critical time. It is critical that states implement processes that ensure payments are being made only to eligible individuals and that states have aggressive strategies and tools in place to prevent detect and recover fraudulent payments with a particular emphasis on imposter fraud by claimants using false or stolen identities. Additionally under the Continued Assistance Act for states to have an adequate system for administering the PUA program states must include procedures for identity verification or validation and for timely payment to the extent reasonable and practicable for all new PUA claims filed on or after January 26 2021 see Section C.3. of Attachment I to UIPL No. 16-20 Change 4 . UIPL No. 28-20 published on August 31 2020 and UIPL No. 28-20 Change 1 published January 15 2021 provided states with funding to assist with efforts to prevent and detect fraud and identity theft and to recover fraud overpayments in the PUA and PEUC programs. 4. Guidance. The term improper payment refers to both an overpayment and an underpayment of UC. This guidance focuses on overpayments. An overpayment is created when a state determines that the individual received a payment or a portion of a payment to which the individual is not entitled. Sections 2104 f and 2107 e of the CARES Act provide instructions for addressing fraud and overpayments in the FPUC and PEUC programs respectively. MEUC was added to Section 2104 of the CARES Act with enactment of the Continued Assistance Act as such Section 2104 f of the CARES Act also provides instructions for addressing fraud and overpayments in the MEUC program. Additionally Section 2105 of the CARES Act temporarily provides full federal funding for the first week of regular UC in states with no waiting week and Section 2105 f of the CARES Act cross-references PEUC instructions found under Section 2107 e of the CARES Act for addressing fraud and overpayments. These instructions include that in the case of individuals who have received amounts to which they were not entitled states must require repayment of these amounts except for limited circumstances discussed further in Section 4.d. of this UIPL under which such repayment would be waived. 4 Additionally under the state UC program when a state determines an overpayment was made to an individual due to fraud committed by such individual the state must assess a penalty of at least 15 percent of the amount of the erroneous payment. See Section 251 a of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 TAAEA Pub. L. 112-40 which created Section 303 a 11 of the Social Security Act SSA 42 U.S.C. 503 a 11 . States must also assess and deposit penalties against individuals determined to be overpaid under federal UC programs due to fraud in the same manner as the state assesses and deposits these penalties under state law implementing Section 303 a 11 SSA. These federal UC programs include any federal temporary extension of UC and any federal program which increases the weekly amount of UC payable to individuals. See Section 251 b of the TAAEA and Section 4 of UIPL No. 02-12. a. Establishing Overpayments for CARES Act Programs. States are reminded of the federal law requirements for identifying and establishing overpayments as described in UIPL No. 01-16. This includes i conducting an investigation which includes promptly contacting the individual to whom the potential overpayment was made and providing the individual a reasonable amount of time to be heard before making an official determination that the payment is improper ii independently verifying information received from a computer cross-match with a federal database or other automatic processes or matches before suspending terminating reducing or making a final denial of UC and iii gathering all relevant information and providing the individual an opportunity to be heard when information is received from a computer cross-match with any database an outside tip or other source. States must weigh the evidence apply the applicable state and federal law and issue a written determination that provides sufficient information to understand the basis for the determination and how when an appeal must be filed. The written determination must also include the facts on which the determination is based the reason for allowing or denying benefits the legal basis for the determination and potential penalties or consequences. Fraud determinations may not be made by an automated system. As discussed in Section 4.d. of UIPL No. 01-16 states may not initiate recovery of an overpayment until an official determination of the overpayment has been made. Communications must be in plain language using methods that ensure the communication is most likely to be successful for all populations including individuals with limited English proficiency. See UIPL Nos. 01-16 02-16 and 02-16 Change 1. b. Assessing Fraud Monetary Penalties for CARES Act Programs. 1 i. Application of a minimum 15 percent monetary penalty. Within the context of the CARES Act states must apply a minimum 15 percent monetary penalty to an individual s overpayment when the state determines that such an overpayment was made to an individual due to fraud. Fraud includes instances where an individual knowingly has made or caused to be made by another a false statement or 1 Guidance will be provided separately to territories and Freely-Associated States that do not administer a regular UC program. 5 representation of a material fact or knowingly has failed or caused another to fail to disclose a material fact. This fraud penalty is applicable to PUA FPUC MEUC PEUC and the first week of regular UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act. Because the CARES Act provides instructions for addressing fraud and overpayments of FPUC MEUC PEUC and reimbursement of the waiting week under Section 2105 of the CARES Act the Department s previous guidance advised that states may not impose additional fraud penalties beyond the CARES Act to overpayments for these programs. However upon further legal analysis the Department has concluded that Section 251 of the TAAEA is applicable to these programs. PUA This UIPL affirms the guidance provided under Section 5 of UIPL No. 16-20 Change 4 which superseded Question 21 of Attachment I to UIPL No. 16-20 Change 2. FPUC This UIPL supersedes Section F.1. of Attachment I to UIPL No. 15-20 specifically as it relates to the imposition of fraud penalties. MEUC This UIPL supersedes Section 4.b. of UIPL No. 15-20 Change 3 specifically as it relates to the imposition of fraud penalties. PEUC This UIPL supersedes Section E.1. of Attachment I to UIPL No. 17-20 specifically as it relates to the imposition of fraud penalties as well as Question E.7. of Attachment I to UIPL No. 17-20 Change 1. ii. Action required from the state. States must apply the fraud monetary penalty for PUA for all fraud overpayments established on or after January 8 2021 the publication date of UIPL No. 16-20 Change 4 . Additionally states must apply the fraud monetary penalty for FPUC MEUC PEUC and the first week of regular UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act for all fraud overpayments established on or after the date of publication for this UIPL. This instruction does not prevent a state from choosing to apply such monetary penalties retroactively to the beginning of the CARES Act programs under the authority provided by TAAEA. c. Assessing Interest and Other Collection Costs for CARES Act Programs. i. Application of interest or other collection costs. Regarding the application of interest or other collection costs to PUA Section 2102 h of the CARES Act provides that the regulations for Disaster Unemployment Assistance DUA at 20 C.F.R. Part 625 apply unless Section 2102 provides otherwise or there is a conflict between Part 625 and Section 2102. Neither Section 2102 nor 20 C.F.R. Part 625 provide for the assessment of interest or collection costs. Therefore states may not apply interest or other collection costs to PUA overpayments whether such overpayments are considered fraudulent or non-fraudulent. 6 Additionally States may not apply interest or other collection costs under state law to overpayments in the FPUC MEUC and PEUC programs whether such overpayments are considered fraudulent or non-fraudulent. This is not permitted under the fraud and overpayment instruction sections found at Sections 2104 f and 2107 e of the CARES Act. Because states may not apply interest or other collection costs to overpayments in the PEUC program and Section 2105 f of the CARES Act cross-references PEUC for instructions on addressing fraud and overpayments states may also not apply interest or other collection costs to overpayments of the first week of regular UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act. ii. Action required from the state. If a state previously assessed interest and other costs for PUA FPUC MEUC PEUC and the first week of regular UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act the state must reconsider these assessments and refund any money collected towards such payment of interest and other collection costs. d. Waiving Recovery of the Overpayment for CARES Act Programs. Federal law sets out the authority to waive recovery of overpayments under certain circumstances for PUA FPUC MEUC PEUC and the first week of regular UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act. 2 It is a matter of state discretion whether to exercise this waiver authority. A state without such waiver provisions under state law may choose to waive recovery for these programs under this federal authority. i. Eligibility criteria for waiving recovery of an overpayment. For PUA FPUC MEUC PEUC and the first week of regular UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act a state may only waive repayment of an overpayment if the state determines that 1 the payment of such compensation was without fault on the part of any such individual and 2 such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. State law determines when an individual is considered to not be at fault for the overpayment. State law may also determine if repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. If such a standard is not addressed in state law or if the state chooses to defer to federal authority in waiving the recovery of overpayments for the CARES Act programs the state must use the following provisions for equity and good conscience when assessing whether an individual overpayment may be waived It would cause financial hardship to the person for whom it is sought or The recipient of the overpayment can show regardless of their financial circumstances that due to the notice that such payment would be made or because of the incorrect payment either they have relinquished a valuable right or changed positions for the worse or 2 Waiver language for PUA was added in the Continued Assistance Act and is found under Section 2102 d 4 of the CARES Act as amended. Waiver language for FPUC and MEUC is found under Section 2104 f 2 of the CARES Act as amended. Waiver language for PEUC is found under Section 2107 e 2 of the CARES Act. 7 Recovery would be unconscionable under the circumstances. ii. Processing requests for waiving recovery of an overpayment. Except as provided in paragraph iii the Department has a long-standing interpretation that the methods of administration for evaluating a request to waive an overpayment must be done on an individual basis and not as a matter of course. As discussed in Section 5 of UIPL No. 23-80 the state may choose to either 1 make a determination as to the applicability of the waiver provision a part of the determination process on every overpayment case or 2 provide as part of each overpayment determination information about the waiver provision and provide that individuals may request consideration of a waiver and receive an appeal determination on the actions taken. Additionally a waiver of the underlying benefit overpayment does not automatically waive the overpayment for FPUC and MEUC. Waiver determinations must be made on the facts and circumstances for each individual program. As provided in Section 4.d. of UIPL No. 01-16 States may not initiate recovery of an overpayment until an official determination of the overpayment has been made consistent with Federal law requirements. States should have clear written procedures that provide for appropriate factfinding and independent verification of information as needed in the official determination process. State law may prohibit recovery of an overpayment until the overpayment determination including any appeal has become final under state law. In addition if state law provides for a waiver of recovery of an overpayment the notice of the overpayment determination must provide enough information to enable the individual to understand under what circumstances a waiver may be granted and how to request such a waiver. See UIPL No. 23-80. Until the period for a waiver request has elapsed or if an individual applies for a waiver the waiver determination is made states may not commence recovery of overpayments. State law may provide that if a request for a waiver is filed the state may not commence recovery of an overpayment until the decision on the waiver request including any appeal has become final under state law. If an overpayment is waived the state must not recover any of the waived amount. If an overpayment is not waived then the offset provisions described in Departmental guidance summarized by program in Attachment I to this UIPL and other recovery provisions under state law apply. iii. Limited circumstances under the CARES Act for which a state may process blanket waivers for waiving recovery of overpayments. There are two specific circumstances under which a state may approve waiver of recovery for overpayments using a single set of facts i.e. approve a blanket waiver . Application of these circumstances does 8 not require the individual to submit a request for such a waiver. However the state must include documentation of its waiver determination on the individual s claim. Without the authority to process blanket waivers as described in this UIPL states would instead be required to individually determine that many individuals are eligible for waiving the repayment based on the same set of facts potentially the same number as would be affected by a blanket waiver. These individualized determinations could result in the same amount of overpayment being forgiven but at a greater cost to the state because of the workload generated from processing individual waivers. A. When an individual is eligible for payment under an unemployment benefit program for a given week but through no fault of the individual they were paid incorrectly under either the PUA or PEUC program at a higher weekly benefit amount WBA . States have experienced significant workload increases and quickly implemented four new unemployment benefit programs over the last year each of which has a defined place in the program progression hierarchy see Attachment I to UIPL No. 14-21 for the latest iteration . This program progression order was modified due to additional amounts provided under PEUC through enactment of the Continued Assistance Act on December 27 2020 and again with the enactment of ARPA on March 11 2021 resulting in certain individuals who were receiving PUA at the time to be switched to PEUC. Additionally this program progression order has changed as states have triggered on and off Extended Benefit EB periods because of changing state unemployment rates. States have experienced challenges adapting their computer systems and customer service processes quickly to implement these changes. This has sometimes resulted in overpayments for large numbers of individuals who had to move back and forth through programs that had varying WBA calculations. The defining aspect of this circumstance under which a state may process blanket waivers for overpayment recovery is that the individual is eligible for benefits for the week in question the sole reason for the overpayment is because of a difference in WBA calculations across programs and recovery would be unconscionable under the circumstances. These types of overpayments meet the criteria for a blanket waiver because o The individual is without fault Overpayments under these circumstances occurred because a unique confluence of circumstances i.e. an avalanche of unemployment claims precipitated by a pandemic implementation of multiple new programs and antiquated computer systems hindered the states ability to properly switch individuals between the CARES Act programs. Therefore if the state did not properly switch a number of individuals between programs and this failure to switch programs was not due to the fault of the individual this condition would be met. o Repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience The United States is entering its second year of a pandemic that has had severe 9 consequences on the economy and individuals ability to find and maintain employment. Since the beginning of the pandemic unemployment has ranged from 14.8 percent at its peak to its current 6.0 percent. 3 While unemployment has decreased from its peak at the beginning of the pandemic 6.0 percent is still significantly higher almost double the unemployment rate for the three years prior to the pandemic. Additionally the amendments to the CARES Act and the changes to guidance have required states to make significant changes to their administration of the programs. These changes in the statute and guidance made it challenging for states to properly administer the programs resulting in the overpayments in the situations described above. As such it would be extremely unfair to require individuals to repay overpayments which occurred as a result of the administration of the various programs and the CARES Act generally and thus recovery would be unconscionable under the circumstances. The authority for states to apply this blanket waiver is limited to overpayments made under the PUA PEUC and MEUC programs. Such overpayments might occur in moving weeks of unemployment from PUA or PEUC to regular UC as a result of a quarter change or the individual s original benefit year ending or moving weeks of unemployment from PEUC to PUA. Because the individual is still eligible for benefits for the week in question there is no overpayment under the FPUC programs. In the case of moving a week of unemployment from PEUC to PUA there may be an overpayment under the MEUC program that may also be waived under these circumstances. For example if the individual through no fault of their own is paid PUA for a week when they otherwise would have been eligible for a lesser WBA with regular UC the state must stop the PUA claim establish an overpayment on the PUA claim and the individual may then file weeks against the regular UC claim. Such an overpayment might occur because when calculating the WBA the PUA program considers wages earned in the last taxable year and regular UC generally considers wages earned in the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. An individual filing in March 2021 may have wages from the calendar year 2020 considered for calculation of the PUA WBA and wages from October 2019-September 2020 considered for calculation of the regular UC WBA. In this situation the state may waive recovery of the resulting PUA overpayment because the individual is not at fault in its creation and recovery would be unconscionable under the circumstances. B. Specific to PUA when through no fault of the individual the state paid the individual a minimum WBA based on DUA guidance other than UIPL No. 03-20. Some states experienced confusion in implementing PUA which is a new unemployment benefit program that is structured differently from any other existing 3 See Bureau of Labor Statistics Civilian Unemployment Rate available online at https www.bls.gov charts employment-situation civilian-unemployment-rate.htm. Accessed April 5 2021 . 10 unemployment benefit program. While PUA in many cases refers to the DUA regulations the assistance period is different. The disaster assistance period under DUA typically lasts 26 weeks the pandemic assistance period under PUA extends across nearly two full calendar years based on a single public health emergency. To facilitate administration of the PUA program the Department instructed states that the minimum WBA for the PUA program is the amount in UIPL No. 03-20. Some states incorrectly used minimum DUA WBAs published for later quarters instead of using the minimum WBA set out in UIPL No. 03-20 as the Department instructed. The defining aspect of this circumstance under which a state may process blanket waivers for overpayment recovery is that the individual is eligible for benefits for the week in question the sole reason for the overpayment is because the state did not implement the correct minimum WBA for the PUA program and recovery would be unconscionable under the circumstances. These types of overpayments meet the criteria for a blanket waiver because o Individual is without fault Under this circumstance it is clear that individual recipients of payments were not at fault for the overpayments as state confusion caused the overpayment. o Repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience These overpayments are relatively small and states would have to invest a significant amount of resources to establish and recover relatively small overpayment amounts. Additionally many individuals collecting PUA do not work in employment covered by the regular UC program which means it is unlikely that these individuals will receive unemployment benefits outside the scope of PUA from which future benefits may be offset. To recover these overpayments states would need to use other collection methods such as wage garnishments which may prove challenging for self-employed individuals. Requiring states to expend significant resources to recover these overpayments could reduce the resources states have to properly and efficiently process initial and continued claims during this period of unprecedented need. It would be extremely unfair to require states to expend the resources to establish and collect these overpayments to the detriment of timely processing and payment of claims and thus recovery would be unconscionable under the circumstances. The authority for states to apply this blanket waiver is limited only to overpayments under the PUA program. PEUC does not carry the same risk for state confusion as it relies on calculating the WBA under existing state UC law. Further because the individual is still eligible for benefits for the week in question there is no overpayment under the FPUC or MEUC programs. 11 iv. Action required from the state. A state must choose one of the following options. Option 1 Not exercise the waiver authority for these CARES Act programs. Option 2 Exercise the waiver authority described in paragraph i in accordance with paragraph ii and not process blanket waivers for the two circumstances described in paragraph iii . Option 3 Exercise the waiver authority described in paragraph i in accordance with paragraph ii as described in Option 2 and process blanket waivers for the two circumstances described in paragraph iii . A. Instructions for states choosing Option 2 or Option 3. If the state chooses Option 2 to exercise its waiver authority the state must A exercise such authority for all of the CARES Act programs including PUA FPUC MEUC PEUC and the first week of regular UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act B as described in prior guidance apply this practice to all overpayments created since the beginning of the CARES Act programs and C as described in prior guidance if it has not already done so notify all individuals with a non-fault overpayment of their ability to request a waiver. The notification must include how to request the waiver. If the state chooses Option 3 to exercise the waiver authority described in this subsection and processes blanket waivers for the two circumstances described in paragraph iii in addition to the instructions provided for Option 2 the state must assess all overpayments created since the beginning of the CARES Act programs against the two circumstances described in paragraph iii . In addition and separate to processing the blanket waivers the state if it has not already done so must notify all remaining individuals with a non-fault overpayment of their ability to request a waiver. The notification must include how to request the waiver. For states choosing Option 2 or Option 3 when processing individual waiver requests under paragraph i in accordance with paragraph ii states must upon receipt of the waiver request pause further collections until a determination of waiver eligibility is made. This applies only to individual requests for waiver and not the state s assessment under blanket waivers . Such a practice helps to mitigate instances requiring refunds described in sub-paragraph B . B. Addressing overpayment amounts collected prior to approving waivers under Option 2 and Option 3. If an individual is determined eligible for a waiver of overpayment recovery under PUA FPUC MEUC PEUC and the first week of regular UC that is reimbursed in accordance with Section 2105 of the CARES Act under an individual waiver request or a blanket waiver the state must refund any amounts that were collected towards the applicable overpayment prior to the determination of waiver eligibility. Some states may have assessed an overpayment for particular weeks of unemployment and upon collecting that overpayment amount from the individual 12 restored a balance to the individual s claim that then allowed the individual to collect additional weeks of unemployment benefits based on the restored balance. In such cases it may not be appropriate to issue a refund. The state may not issue a refund for any benefits that were restored and then subsequently paid to the individual. Given the many demands on state agencies it may take some time e.g. up to a year for states to program their computer systems and notify individuals before they process such refunds. States are encouraged to contact the Department for technical assistance including to request support in drafting notification language. 5. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to covid-19 dol.gov with a copy to the appropriate ETA Regional Office. 6. References. American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ARPA including Title IX Subtitle A Crisis Support for Unemployed Workers Pub. L. 117-2 Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 including Division N Title II Subtitle A the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 Continued Assistance Act Pub. L. 116-260 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act including Title II Subtitle A Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act Pub. L. 116-136 Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 TAAEA Pub. L. 112-40 Section 303 of the Social Security Act SSA 42 U.S.C. 503 20 C.F.R. Part 625 UIPL No. 14-21 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ARPA Key Unemployment Insurance UI Provisions issued March 15 2021 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 5669 UIPL No. 09-21 Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 Continued Assistance Act - Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance UI Provisions issued December 30 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 3831 UIPL No. 28-20 Change 1 Additional Funding for Identity Verification or Verification of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA Claimants and Funding to Assist with Efforts to Prevent and Detect Fraud and Identity Theft as well as Recover Fraud Overpayments in the PUA and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC Programs issued January 15 2021 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 9897 UIPL No. 28-20 Addressing Fraud in the Unemployment Insurance UI System and Providing States with Funding to Assist with Efforts to Prevent and Detect Fraud and Identity Theft and Recover Fraud Overpayments in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC Programs issued August 31 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 8044 UIPL No. 20-20 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 - Operating Financial and Reporting Instructions for Section 2105 Temporary Full Federal Funding of the First Week of Compensable Regular Unemployment for States 13 with No Waiting Week issued April 30 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm docn 6324 UIPL No 17-20 Change 1 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020-Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC Program Questions and Answers and Revised Reporting Instructions for the PEUC ETA 227 issued May 13 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 8689 UIPL No. 17-20 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC Program Operating Financial and Reporting Instructions issued April 10 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 8452 UIPL No. 16-20 Change 4 Continued Assistance to Unemployed Workers Act of 2020- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA Program Updated Operating Instructions and Reporting Changes issued January 8 2021 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 6973 UIPL No. 16-20 Change 2 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 - Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA Additional Questions and Answers issued July 21 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 5479 UIPL No. 15-20 Change 3 Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Continued Assistance Act of 2020 - Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation FPUC Program Reauthorization and Modification and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation MEUC Program Operating Reporting and Financial Instructions issued January 5 2021 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 6122 UIPL No. 15-20 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 - Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation FPUC Program Operating Financial and Reporting Instructions issued April 4 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 9297 UIPL No. 14-20 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance UI Provisions and Guidance Regarding Temporary Emergency State Staffing Flexibility issued April 2 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 3390 UIPL No. 03-20 Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance DUA Weekly Benefit Amount January 1 - March 31 2020 issued December 12 2019 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 3675 UIPL No. 02-16 Change 1 State Responsibilities for Ensuring Access to Unemployment Insurance Benefits Services and Information issued May 11 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 5491 UIPL No. 02-16 State Responsibilities for Ensuring Access to Unemployment Insurance Benefits issued October 1 2015 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 4233 UIPL No. 01-16 Federal Requirements to Protect Individual Rights in State Unemployment Compensation Overpayment Prevention and Recovery Procedures issued October 1 2015 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 5763 UIPL No. 02-12 Unemployment Compensation UC Program Integrity Amendments made by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 TAAEA issued December 20 2011 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 6707 and 14 UIPL No. 23-80 Implementation of Wavier of Overpayment Provisions in State UI Laws issued March 11 1980 https oui.doleta.gov dmstree uipl uipl80 uipl 2380.htm. 4 7. Attachment s . Attachment I Overpayment Recovery across Unemployment Compensation UC Programs. 4 We note that the link to this document shows an expiration date of February 28 1981. However per Training and Employment Notice No. 15-20 issued January 14 2021 this remains an active UIPL.