UIPL_17-20_Change-1.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY SYSTEM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Washington D.C. 20210 CLASSI FICATION Unemployment Insurance CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL OUI DUIO DATE May 13 2020 RESCISSIONS None EXPIRATION DATE Continuing ADVISORY UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 17-20 Change 1 TO FROM SUBJECT STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES JOHN PALLASCH Assistant Secretary Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 P andemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC Program Questions and Answers and Revised Reporting Instructions for the PEUC ETA 227. 1. Purpose. As states have gained experience administering the PEUC program under the CARES Act they have identified questions about aspects of the program s operation. The purpose of this UIPL is to address those questions and provide further guidance about the PEUC program authorized by section 2107 of the CARES Act of 2020 Public Law Pub. L. 116-136. 2. Action Requested. The U.S. Department of Labor s Department Employment and Training Administration ETA requests that State Workforce Administrators provide the information in this Unemployment Insurance Program Letter UIPL and all attachments to appropriate program and other staff in state workforce systems as they implement the Unemployment Insurance UI -related provisions in the CARES Act that respond to the economic effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 COVID-19 . 3. Summary and Background.a.Summary - The PEUC program was authorized on March 27 2020 and on April 10 2020 ETA issued UIPL No. 17-20 to provide program implementation instructions to states. ETA issues this Change 1 to UIPL No. 17-20 to provide states with ongoing technical assistance in the administration of the PEUC program. b. Background - On March 27 2020 the President signed into law the CARES Act whichincludes the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act set out in Title II Subtitle A. Section 2107 of the CARES Act creates a temporary Federal PEUC Program that provides up to 13 additional weeks of benefits to an individual who has exhausted his or her regular unemployment compensation UC and provides funding to states for the administration of the program. An individual receiving PEUC benefits may also receive the 600 weekly benefit amount WBA under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment 2 Compensation FPUC program for weeks of unemployment beginning after the state signs the FPUC agreement and ending before July 31 2020. The PEUC program provisions operate in tandem with the fundamental eligibility requirements of the Federal-state UI program which remain in place. These requirements include that an individual is only entitled to benefits if the individual is no longer working through no fault of the individual and that the individual must be able and available to work. The PEUC program also includes specific work search requirements and requires states to provide flexibility with respect to those work search requirements in cases where an individual is unable to search for work because of COVID-19 including because of illness quarantine or movement restriction. Also available are the flexibilities discussed in UIPL Nos. 10-20 and 13-20. States must ensure that PEUC is only paid to an individual in accordance with the statutory provisions and ETA s guidance. 4. Guidance. a. Questions and Answers. The Department hosted a webinar with states on April 14 2020 to discuss UIPL No. 17-20 and key provisions of the PEUC program. A recording is available under the Events section on the Unemployment Insurance Community of Practice on WorkforceGPS https ui.workforcegps.org . Attachment I contains answers to certain questions received during the webinar and through the Department s designated e-mail on all COVID-19 related inquiries covid-19 dol.gov . b. Revised Reporting Instructions for the PEUC ETA 227 Report. The Department provided reporting instructions for the PEUC program ETA 227 Overpayment Detection and Recovery Activities report in UIPL No. 17-20. The following guidance replaces the information in UIPL No. 17-20 Attachment I Section G 2.c. at p. I-14 Data Items to be Reported - ETA 227. Report Section A Overpayments Established - Causes lines 101 through 113 for columns 2 through 5 excluding columns 20 and 21. Report all of Section B Overpayments Established Methods of Detection lines 201 through 210 for columns 6 through 10. Report all of Section C Recovery Reconciliation lines 301 through 314 and 321 for columns 11 through 14 excluding columns 22 and 23. Report all of Section D Criminal Civil Actions lines 401 through 408 for columns 15 through 17 excluding column 24. Report all of Section E Aging of Benefit Overpayment Accounts lines 501 through 507 for columns 18 and 19 excluding column 25. Additionally states should continue to report PEUC overpayment information on the PEUC ETA 227 report until there is no longer any overpayment activity. 5. Inquiries. States should direct inquiries to the email account covid-19 dol.gov and copy the appropriate Regional Office. 3 6. References. Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act 2020 Pub. L. 116-136 including Title II Subtitle A Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act Section 4102 Families First Coronavirus Response Act Pub. L. 116-127 Division D Emergency Unemployment Insurance Stabilization and Access Act of 2020 EUISSA Pub. L. 116-127 Section 303 of the Social Security Act SSA codified at 42 U.S.C. 503 Section 3304 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act FUTA codified at 26 U.S.C. 3304 Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 26 U.S.C. 3304 note 18 U.S.C. 1001 20 C.F.R. Part 615 UIPL No. 17-95 Change 1 Priority of Withholding from Unemployment Compensation UC issued on September 28 1995 http www.ows.doleta.gov dmstree uipl uipl95 uipl 1795c1.htm UIPL No. 11-11 The Claims Resolution Act of 2010 P.L. 111-291 and the Tax Relief Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 P.L.111-312 Provisions Affecting the Federal-State Unemployment Compensation Program issued on March 8 2011 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 2996 UIPL No. 12-14 Required Use of the Treasury Offset Program to Collect Covered Unemployment Compensation Debt issued May 20 2014 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 9344 UIPL No. 02-19 Recovery of Certain Unemployment Compensation Debts under the Treasury Offset Program issued December 12 2018 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 8457 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 14 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 9297 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 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA Program Operating Financial and Reporting Instructions issued April 05 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 4628 UIPL No. 16-20 Change 1 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA Program Reporting Instructions and Questions and Answers issued April 27 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 5899 UIPL No. 14-20 Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance UI Provisions and Temporary Emergency State Staffing Flexibility issued April 2 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 3390 4 UIPL No. 13-20 Families First Coronavirus Response Act Division D Emergency Unemployment Insurance Stabilization and Access Act of 2020 issued March 22 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 8634 and UIPL No. 10-20 Unemployment Compensation UC for Individuals Affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 COVID-19 issued March 12 2020 https wdr.doleta.gov directives corr doc.cfm DOCN 8893. 7. Attachment s . Attachment I - Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC Questions and Answers I-1 Attachment I to UIPL No. 17-20 Change 1 Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC Questions and Answers Table of Contents A. PEUC Notification Requirement .......................................................................................... 2 B. Claims Processing for PEUC ................................................................................................ 2 C. Monetary Eligibility .............................................................................................................. 3 D. Work Search Job Service Registration Requirements .......................................................... 5 E. Non-Monetary Issue.............................................................................................................. 5 F. PEUC Intercepts and Overpayment Recovery ...................................................................... 7 G. Funding Request ................................................................................................................... 9 H. Reporting Questions.............................................................................................................. 9 I-2 A. PEUC Notification Requirement 1. Question Page 3 of UIPL No. 17-20 provides that one way for an individual to be deemed to have exhausted benefits for purposes of qualifying for PEUC is that the individual s right to such regular UC has been terminated by reason of the expiration of the benefit year with respect to which such rights existed excluding any benefit year that ended before July 1 2019 . What does this mean for purposes of the state notification Answer This means that an individual may establish eligibility for PEUC based on a regular unemployment compensation UC claim that expired with a benefit year end BYE date on or after July 1 2019. In most states where a BYE ends on Saturday the practical effect is that the state must notify any individual of the potential eligibility for PEUC whose benefit year expired on or after July 6 2019 through the end date of the PEUC program. 2. Question Is it sufficient notice for the state to post a banner on its state website announcing PEUC availability or must the state notify each potentially eligible individual Answer The state agency is required to individually notify each potentially eligible individual. Posting information on the state website is insufficient for individual notice though it is a good practice to supplement customer service and public awareness. 3. Question Is there model language for notification of PEUC Answer States should consider using the following language in its notification The Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security CARES Act of 2020 creates a new temporary federal program called Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation PEUC . PEUC provides up to 13 additional weeks of benefits to an individual who has exhausted all rights to any regular unemployment compensation and who meets other eligibility requirements of the CARES Act. You may be eligible for these federal benefits. If you wish to file a claim for PEUC you may do so by include the state s claim filing information and instructions . B. Claims Processing for PEUC 1. Question If an individual is in continued claim status for a regular UC claim when the exhaustion of benefits occur may the UC claim be automatically switched to a PEUC claim without a PEUC initial claim Answer No. An individual must file an application for PEUC benefits. 2. Question Is an individual potentially eligible for PEUC if the individual filed a new claim and established a benefit year that ended on or after July 1 2019 but received no payments before the benefit year ended for example the individual filed the UC claim I-3 but immediately went back to work and did not collect any UC benefits on the benefit year before the claim expired Answer Yes. The individual is considered an exhaustee because the individual s right to such regular UC has been terminated by reason of the expiration of the benefit year provided that the individual is not eligible for UC in any other state or in Canada. 3. Question Does the state have to re-verify an alien s work authorization when considering the PEUC claim Answer Yes unless the state has information obtained from the verification made in connection with the regular UC claim that the alien s work authorization remains in effect. No additional verification is required until the expiration date of the individual s qualified alien status is reached. 4. Question Is there a waiting week provision for PEUC Answer No. There is no waiting period requirement for PEUC. 5. Question If an individual files a new UC claim and is found monetarily ineligible e.g. no wages or insufficient wages for benefits does the state need to check for any earlier prior benefit year s to determine if the individual may qualify for PEUC Answer Yes. To determine if the individual is an exhaustee who qualifies for PEUC the state must assess if the individual has any prior benefit year s that ended on or after July 1 2019. 6. Question May an individual choose the benefit year under which a PEUC claim will be filed Because of the lengthy reach back for determining whether an individual is an exhaustee it is possible for the individual to have two different benefit years that ended on or after July 1 2019. It is also possible for an individual to have one benefit year that ended on or after July 1 2019 and another benefit year that has not ended but all UC benefits have been exhausted Answer No. The applicable benefit year is the most recent benefit year. C. Monetary Eligibility 1. Question If state law requires a request for redetermination of a monetary determination before an individual can appeal a denial of benefits based upon monetary eligibility decision would state law apply or would the individual be allowed to file an appeal of a PEUC monetary determination without the individual having to request a redetermination first Answer Section 2107 of the CARES Act provides that the provisions of state law will apply regarding PEUC claim determinations and appeals. If state law requires a I-4 redetermination before an appeal is filed then the state would apply that provision to the PEUC monetary determination as well. 2. Question Can an individual receive more than 13 weeks of PEUC Answer It depends. The Maximum Benefit Amount MBA is calculated as 13 times the weekly benefit amount that was payable to an individual in his or her benefit year. If an individual were to receive the full PEUC WBA each week the number of weeks paid would equal 13. However if an individual has earnings that reduce the WBA payable in a week then the individual would receive less than the full WBA for that week and therefore could end up receiving more than 13 weeks of PEUC. 3. Question Will an individual receive the additional FPUC payment for all of the PEUC weeks paid even if the PEUC payments go beyond the FPUC expiration date Answer No the additional 600 per week from FPUC cannot be paid past the FPUC expiration date. Refer to UIPL No. 15-20 for additional guidance on the FPUC program. In states where the week of unemployment ends on a Saturday the last week that FPUC may be paid is the week ending July 25 2020. For states where the week of unemployment ends on a Sunday the last week that FPUC is payable is the week ending July 26 2020. 4. Question If the individual becomes eligible for a regular UC claim while collecting PEUC does the individual get to choose between the two programs Answer No. An individual can only receive PEUC if the individual has no rights and has exhausted all rights to regular UC. If the individual is eligible for regular UC the individual cannot receive PEUC even if the WBA on the new UC claim is less than the individual was receiving on the PEUC claim. 5. Question May an individual have more than one PEUC claim Answer Yes. An individual may establish a claim for PEUC qualify for a new UC benefit year exhaust that benefit year and subsequently qualify for a second PEUC claim based on the new most recent benefit year. 6. Question How does it affect eligibility for PEUC when an individual files a second regular UC claim and does not meet the requalification requirement Answer An individual who has received regular UC during one benefit year must have gone back to work since the beginning of such year in order to qualify for a subsequent and second regular UC claim. This is known as the requalification requirement under Section 3304 a 7 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act FUTA and prevents individuals from double dipping without intervening employment. Where an individual is unable to satisfy the requalification requirement I-5 for a subsequent and second regular UC claim an individual is considered an exhaustee and may be eligible for PEUC. D. Work Search Job Service Registration Requirements 1. Question Does an individual have to meet the same work search requirements on the PEUC claim as he or she did on the regular UC claim for example register for work with the state make a certain number of job contacts per week etc. Answer Yes the CARES Act contains the actively seeking work requirement for PEUC. For purposes of PEUC actively seeking work means that an individual a is registered with employment services as required under state provisions b is engaged in an active search for employment that is appropriate in light of the employment available in the labor market the individual s skills and capabilities and includes a number of employer contacts that is consistent with the standards communicated to the individual by the state c is maintaining a record of work search activities including employers contacted method of contact and date contacted and when requested and d when requested provides such information to the state. However as noted in UIPL No. 17-20 any temporary emergency flexibility measures that states have adopted for regular UC as described in UIPL Nos. 10-20 and 13-20 are applicable to the administration of PEUC. Additionally section 2107 a 7 B of the CARES Act requires that states provide flexibility with respect to the actively seeking work requirements for PEUC in case of individuals unable to search for work because of COVID-19 including because of illness quarantine or movement restriction. E. Non-Monetary Issue 1. Question How does section 4102 b of the Emergency Unemployment Insurance Stabilization and Access Act EUISSA of 2020 apply to claims for PEUC Answer EUISAA allows for an emergency temporary modification of certain provisions under Section 303 SSA and Section 3304 FUTA. Section 4102 b of EUISAA states Notwithstanding any other law if a State modifies its unemployment compensation law and policies with respect to work search waiting week good cause or employer experience rating on an emergency temporary basis as needed to respond to the spread of COVID-19 such modifications shall be disregarded for the purposes of applying section 303 of the SSA and section 3304 of FUTA to such State law. Therefore if a state adopts temporary flexibilities under EUISSA for UC claims those flexibilities would also apply to PEUC claims for as long as those flexibilities remain in effect. I-6 2. Question Does the PEUC program have the same eligibility requirements as a regular UC claim For example is an individual required to be able to work available for work and actively seeking work in accordance with state law Answer Yes. In general the terms and conditions of state law that apply to claims for regular UC also apply to claims for PEUC although PEUC has specific requirements for actively seeking work that may be more demanding than state law as outlined in the answer to Question D. 1. Additionally Section a 7 B of the CARES Act requires a state to provide flexibility in meeting the work search requirement in the case of an individual who is unable to search for work because of COVID-19 including because of illness quarantine or movement restrictions. A state also has flexibilities regarding work search under EUISAA as noted above and in UIPL Nos. 10-20 and 13-20. 3. Question Must a state adjudicate any new separation issue s that occurred after the individual exhausted the UC claim Answer Yes. A state must adjudicate separation issues in accordance with state law for all PEUC claims. 4. Question If an individual is disqualified on a regular UC claim is that individual eligible for PEUC if the benefit year has not ended Answer No. The individual would not be considered an exhaustee because there would be a remaining balance on the UC claim and the benefit year has not ended. PEUC follows the same terms and conditions of state law for regular UC. Therefore the individual would not be eligible for PEUC. 5. Question If a state assesses penalty weeks for making a false statement and allows an individual to certify for benefits and not be paid in order to serve the penalty weeks may an individual who is otherwise eligible use PEUC weeks to satisfy this penalty in the same manner Answer Yes. If state law allows regular UC weeks to be used to serve the penalty weeks then PEUC weeks may be used in the same manner to serve the penalty weeks and the individual will not receive PEUC for that week. 6. Question If an individual is ineligible for regular UC because he or she is not able to work or available to work can the individual receive PEUC Answer No. The individual is not eligible for regular UC under the state law therefore the individual is not eligible for PEUC. I-7 7. Question If an individual is found to have committed fraud on a week for which he or she received PEUC benefits can the state impose a fraud penalty on the overpaid amount Answer No. The state may not impose fraud penalty provisions on PEUC payments. However as described in section 2103 e 1 A of the CARES Act the individual will be ineligible for future PEUC benefits in accordance with the applicable provisions of state UC law. An individual who commits fraud under this program is also subject to criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C 1001. 8. Question Do the same right to appeals and fair hearings under state law apply to claims for PEUC Answer Yes. The same terms and condition of state UC law apply to PEUC appeals. F. PEUC Intercepts and Overpayment Recovery 1. Question Are PEUC payments subject to child support intercept Answer Yes. Child support obligations must be deducted from PEUC payments in the same manner and to the same extent as these obligations are deducted from regular UC. 2. Question What is the order of priority for deductions of overpayment offset child support and income taxes Answer The state will follow the same procedures that apply to regular UC. See UIPL 17-95 Change 1 . 3. Question Can a state choose not to offset to repay a PEUC overpayment Answer No. Pursuant to section 2107 e 3 A of the CARES Act in order to recover an overpayment a state must offset PEUC or other UC payable under any state or Federal UC law administered by the state agency or any other assistance or allowance payable with respect to a week of unemployment under any other state or Federal law administered by the state agency. Additionally if the state has a cross-program offset agreement in place under Section 303 g 2 SSA 42 U.S.C. 503 g 2 then PEUC payments must be reduced to recover overpayments from any other state and Federal unemployment benefit programs. However a state may not offset more than 50 percent from the PEUC payment to recover such overpayments. In addition while a state must attempt to recover the full amount of the overpayment a state may limit the amount that will be deducted from each payment as noted on page 4 of UIPL No. 05-13 Work Search and Overpayment Offset Provisions Added to Permanent Federal Unemployment Compensation Law by Title II Subtitle A of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. I-8 4. Question How long can a state offset benefits to recover a PEUC overpayment Answer PEUC benefits may only be offset from other state and federal UC for three years after the date such individual received the PEUC payment to which he or she was not entitled. After three years a state may continue to recover PEUC overpayments through means other than benefit offsets according to state law. 5. Must PEUC be offset to recover overpayments if the state has signed the Interstate Reciprocal Overpayment Recovery Arrangement IRORA Answer Yes. States must reduce PEUC payments to recover overpayments from other states if the state has signed the IRORA agreement. However a state may not offset more than 50 percent from the PEUC payment to recover such overpayments. 6. Question If state law requires that regular UC is offset at 100 percent to recover an overpayment does this same provision apply to PEUC benefits Answer No. The state may not offset more than 50 percent from the PEUC payment to recover an overpayment. 7. Question May the state apply its own state law waiver provisions to PEUC overpayments Answer The state may waive repayment of the PEUC overpayment if the overpayment is without fault and the repayment of the overpayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience in accordance with the requirement in Section 2107 e 2 of the CARES Act. States must determine waiver requirements on an individual basis and cannot apply blanket waivers to a group of individuals. 8. Question Are states limited to only using benefit offsets to recover PEUC overpayments Answer No. Section 2107 e 3 requires benefit offset as one method of recovery but states can also use other means to recover PEUC overpayments as allowable under state or Federal law for example State lottery winnings wage garnishments etc. . 9. Question If a state currently offsets 100 percent of UC benefits to repay overpayments can the state continue to offset these benefits at 100 percent to repay a PEUC overpayment Answer Yes states may follow state law relating to the percentage of UC benefits that may be offset to recover an overpayment. The 50 percent restriction relates to offsets of PEUC and FPUC and PUA it does not restrict offsets from other programs. I-9 10. Question Does TOP apply to the PEUC program Answer Yes. As discussed in UIPL Nos. 11-11 12-14 and 02-19 the requirement to use TOP recovery applies to any overpayment that meets the requirements of a covered UC debt regardless of the UC program under which the debt is owed. Thus in addition to the state UC program overpayments e.g. regular UC or EB TOP must be used for recovery of covered debts of federal UC such as PUA under section 2102 of the CARES Act FPUC under section 2104 of the CARES Act and PEUC under section 2107 of the CARES Act. G. Funding Request 1. Question Are states required to account for the PEUC and regular UI programs separately Answer Yes. States must track and report administrative funding and time distribution separately. For administrative funding Because of the separate appropriation for PEUC administrative funds and the availability of these funds until expended states must track and report PEUC administrative expenditures and obligations separately from the regular UI program. Therefore states must establish a separate fund ledger and must submit a separate ETA 9130 for the PEUC program. States are to include any PEUC administrative expenditures and obligations incurred in March 2020 in their June 30 2020 PEUC ETA 9130 report. For time distribution States must charge time used for all PEUC activities to the appropriate UI functional activity codes as outlined in Appendix E to ET Handbook No. 401 5th Edition under the separate PEUC fund ledger however states should combine regular and PEUC staff year usage data in Section A of the UI-3 worksheet. 2. Question Are a state s administrative costs subject to the Cash Management Improvement Act CMIA provisions Answer Yes. Both benefits and administrative costs are subject to the CMIA. H. Reporting Questions 1. Question Are PEUC claims excluded from Benefit Accuracy Measurement BAM samples Answer Yes. All paid and denied PEUC claims will be excluded from the BAM Paid Claims Accuracy PCA and Denied Claims Accuracy DCA sampling frames. This is consistent with the policy followed for previous temporary programs. I-10 2. Question Will PEUC have its own workload function activity on the Resource Justifi cation Model RJM Answer No. PEUC will be excluded from any RJM reporting requirements. 3. Question Should PEUC program activity be reported using the same reports as UI program activity Answer No. States must electronically submit the following reports for the PEUC program ETA 207 ETA 218 ETA 227 ETA 5130 and ETA 5159 by using separate PEUC entry screens that are available through the UI Required Reports electronic reporting system. PEUC activity should also be reported on the ETA 2112 ETA 539 and UI -3 see section G 2 of Attachment I to UIPL No. 17 -20 for more details and the revision of G.2.c. described on page 2 of UIPL No. 17 -20 Change 1 . Unless otherwise noted definitions of items will follow definitions in the regular p rogram as specified in ETA Handbook 401 5th Edition. Due dates will be the same as the regular versions of reports. Reporting will begin with the first reporting period in which the effective date of the PEUC program falls. Reporting for all reports will continue as long as there is activity. However only reports with non -zero data need to be submitted.