TEN 06-23 (Accessible PDF).pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT NOTICE NO. 0 6-23 DATE September 1 2023 EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 TO STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES FR OM BRENT PARTON s Principal De puty Assistant Secr etary SU BJECT Announcing Fundamentals of Equitable Access in Unemployment Insurance UI Online Training 1.Pur pose. To announce the availability of a recently developed online training lesson about the fundamentals of equitable access in UI programs. 2.Act ion Requested. The U.S. Department of Labor s Department Employment and Training Administration ETA requests that State Workforce Agency SWA Administrators provide the information contained in this Training and Employment Notification TEN to all staff. ETA encourages all SWA staff to access and complete this training. 3.Su mmary and Background. a.Sum mary This TEN announces the availability of an online training lesson on the fundamentals of equitable access in UI programs for SWA staff. This training was developed in partnership with the National Association of State Workforce Agencies NASWA . b. Ba ckground Unemployment Insurance Program Letter UIPL No. 02-16 issued October 1 2015 articulates the requirements under federal law to ensure access to the UI program and provides guidance to assist states with meeting these requirements. UIPL No. 02-16 Change 1 issued May 11 2020 highlights additional state responsibilities regarding access to UI benefits. Further the inclusion of equitable access as one of the three goals of Section 9032 of the American Rescue Plan Act ARPA and as a national priority in each state s State Quality Service Plan see UIPL No. 09-23 emphasizes equitable access as a fundamental requirement of the UI program. In addition ETA has developed the UI Equitable Access Toolkit which can be accessed directly at https www.workforcegps.org resources 2023 04 UI Content Public Equitable Access Toolkit. This UI Equitable Access Toolkit is also publicly available through the Depar tment s Unemployment Insurance Modernization website at http www.dol.gov agencies eta ui-modernization. 4.Funda me ntals of Equitable Access in UI. The new Fundamentals of Equitable Access in UI training lesson is self-paced and can be accessed via NASWA s learning management website https www.naswa.org learning . ETA has created this online training in 2 collaboration with NASWA to address ch allenges and possible solutions to help ensure equitable access to UI programs. The contents of this training do not supersede states obligations under federal law including Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act WIOA and its implementing regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 38 and states must ensure compliance with these requirements as described in the above-mentioned UIPLs. A s states continue to optimize UI operations especially in the areas of timeliness and integrity and modernize their UI systems the Department is committed to providing SWAs assistance in recognizing common equity and accessibility issues and providing SWA employees actionable solutions to continue to promote equity and accessibility both internally and externally. This online training has been developed in part based on the Department s learnings from its UI Tiger Team engagements with state workforce agencies and community-based organizations across the country see UIPL No. 02-22 and its Changes as well as UIPL No. 11-23 . The onli ne training is intended to promote awareness of equitable access issues amongst SWA leadership and non-leadership staff identify barriers and possible solutions and create a dialogue to further identify and address equitable access barriers within the state s UI programs. SWA staff will receive a high-level overview on why it is critical to embed equitable access principles in the UI system where barriers to equitable access may exist along the UI journey and potential solutions to those barriers. ETA encourages SWAs to provide this training for all staff to complete. 5.Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate ETA Regional Office. 6.R eferences. S ection 9032 of the American Rescue Plan Act Pub L. 117-2 enacted March 11 2021 Executive Order 14091 Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government issued February 16 2023 https www.whitehouse.gov briefing-room presidential-actions 2023 02 16 executive- order-on-further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities- through-the-federal-government Executive Order 14020 Establishment of the White House Gender Policy Council issued March 8 2021 https www.whitehouse.gov briefing-room presidential- actions 2021 03 08 executive-order-on-establishment-of-the-white-house-gender-policy- council Executive Order 13985 Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government issued January 20 2021 https www.whitehouse.gov briefing-room presidential-actions 2021 01 20 executive- order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the- federal-government 3 UIPL 09- 23 Additional Planning Guidance for the Fiscal Year FY 2024 Unemployment Insurance UI State Quality Service Plan SQSP issued June 30 2023 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories UIPL0923 UIPL 11-23 Announcement of Grant Opportunities and National Identity ID Verification Offering under the American Rescue Plan Act ARPA issued July 13 2023 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories uipl-11-23 UIPL No. 02-22 Grant Opportunity to Support States Following a Consultative Assessment for Fraud Detection and Prevention Promoting Equitable Access and Ensuring the Timely Payment of Benefits including Backlog Reduction for all Unemployment Compensation UC Programs issued November 2 2021 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories unemployment-insurance-program- letter-no-02-22 UIPL No. 02-22 Change 1 Extension of Time for States to Express Interest in the Grant Opportunity Announced in Unemployment Insurance Program Letter UIPL No. 2-22 to Support States Following a Consultative Assessment for Fraud Detection and Prevention Promoting Equitable Access and Ensuring the Timely Payment of Benefits including Backlog Reduction for all Unemployment Compensation UC Programs issued February 16 2022 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories unemployment-insurance-program- letter-no-02-22-change-1 UIPL No. 02-22 Change 2 Extension of Time for States to Express Interest in the Grant Opportunity Announced in Unemployment Insurance Program Letter UIPL No. 02-22 to Support States Following a Consultative Assessment for Fraud Detection and Prevention Promoting Equitable Access and Ensuring the Timely Payment of Benefits including Backlog Reduction for all Unemployment Compensation UC Programs issued September 19 2022 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories uipl-02-22-change-2 UIPL No. 23-21 Grant Opportunity for Promoting Equitable Access to Unemployment Compensation UC Programs issued August 17 2021 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no- 23-21 UIPL No. 02-16 State Responsibilities for Ensuring Access to Unemployment Insurance Benefits issued October 1 2015 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no- 02-16 UIPL No. 02-16 Change 1 State Responsibilities for Ensuring Access to Unemployment Insurance Benefits Services and Information issued May 11 2020 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no- 02-16-change-1 UIPL No. 11-14 Collection and Analysis of Claimant Demographic Data issued May 15 2014 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories unemployment-insurance- program-letter-no11-14 TEN No. 26-22 Availability of the Unemployment Insurance UI Equitable Access Toolkit issued May 12 2023 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories ten-26-22 4 TEN No. 24-22 New Unemployment Insurance UI Tiger Team Promising Recommendations Resource Pages Available on WorkforceGPS issued April 17 2023 https www.dol.gov agencies eta advisories ten-24-22 and UI Modernization webpage https www.dol.gov agencies eta ui-modernization. 7. Attachment s . None.