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Participants: The agenda for the conference is being designed to provide forums for all of the key members of the unemployment insurance appellate process to exchange ideas and expertise with their counterparts from other States. The administrative supervisors and managers of the lower and higher authority appeals units do not often have an opportunity for a national discussion of their common concerns about dealing with appeals operational issues. UIS is attempting to provide that opportunity, at least, every three years. The agenda is also being designed for unemployment insurance appellate board and commission members, chief hearing officers and supervisors responsible for lower authority appellate adjudications, and the chief counsels and chief executive officers of the various higher authority boards and commissions. Agenda: Current plans are for the conference to begin late Sunday afternoon, June 15, 1997 and end late Thursday afternoon, June 19, 1997. Tentative agenda topics include the following: GENERAL TOPICS 1. Service quality; 2. Coping with frustration and stress in the administrative adjudication process; 3. Ethics - Dealing with and reporting unethical conduct before, during, and after hearings on the part of attorneys; and ethical problems facing administrative staff; 4. Automation demonstrations; 5. Security and safety issues; and 6. Workshop on training, conducting workshops, panels, etc. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE TOPICS 1. The changing roles of administrative and professional staff and other personnel issues; 2. Process analysis and new ideas for appeals unit operations and procedures; 3. Office equipment solutions to various problems; 4. Work flow and communication between higher authority and lower authority; 5. Ideas for saving hearing time; 6. Using management reports and data as tools in managing appellate operations; 7. Lower authority workload counting & quality evaluation; 8. Telecommuting/flexiplace & flexitime; and 9. Obtaining and using interpreters. LEGAL ISSUES/TOPICS 1. Establishing standards of and for telephone hearings; 2. Filing appeals by telephone; 3. Records that must be maintained and hearings that must be held when bias or ex parte communication is alleged; 4. Drug and drug testing issues; 5. Limits of good cause attributable to the employer; 6. Walking off the job and intent to quit and medical leave issues; 7. Separations under early retirement programs; 8. Enforcement of no smoking rules and no-fault attendance policies and misconduct; 9. Misconduct cases involving nursing homes and health care workers; 10. Decisions based exclusively on hearsay; 11. Americans with Disabilities Act and mental and emotional illness; 12. Labor standards - scope of labor market for different occupations; 13. Precedent value of related administrative/criminal proceedings; and 14. Waiver of overpayments - differing standards. Meeting Particulars and Costs: Specific information about hotel accommodations, the final agenda, and related matters will be provided in an Unemployment Insurance Program Letter which will be published at a later date. Tentative lodging costs are $95.00 plus tax per night for single or double occupancy. There will be a conference fee of about $200 for each participant. The conference fee is needed to cover the costs of guest speakers' fees and expenses, lunches, two dinners, and various expenses for meeting logistics. Action Required: SESA Administrators are requested to provide this information to the above-described SESA personnel and appellate board members and staff.

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References: UIPL 45-92, dated August 20, 1992; UIPL 17-95, dated February 28, 1995; UIPL 30-96, dated August 8, 1996; and UIPL 37-96, dated August 8, 1996. Background: The Department of Labor interprets Federal law requirements pertaining to UI as part of its role in the administration of the Federal-State UI program. These interpretations are issued in UIPLs. This UIPL is issued to correct several technical errors which the Department has identified in four UIPLs. No Departmental interpretation of Federal law is changed by this UIPL. Technical Changes: a. UIPL 45-92: On page 23 of the Attachment I to the UIPL, in the first sentence of the third full paragraph, "new subsection (t) of Section 3306, FUTA" is changed to "Section 401(d)(1) of P.L. 102-318". b. UIPL 17-95: In Item 4.b. on page 2 of the UIPL, the word "voluntarily" is substituted for "voluntary" in the quote of Section 3304(a)(18), FUTA. In item 4.g. on page 7, first paragraph, the phrase "must be permitting the withholding Federal income tax" is changed to read "and the States must be permitting the withholding of Federal income tax". Also in item 4.g., the words "voluntary holding" in the second sentence of the third paragraph are changed to "voluntary withholding" and the words "as for payments" are changed to "for payments". c. UIPL 30-96: In the second sentence of the footnote on page 2 of the UIPL, "two cases involving UC" is changed to "two cases involving UC law." This change is made because characterizing the court cases in question as "involving UC" may imply that they addressed the payment of UC. Instead, they addressed the taxing provisions of Federal UC law. These taxing provisions are, however, entwined with the issue of coverage which UIPL 30-96 addresses. d. UIPL 37-96: Two changes are made to the draft language on page 13 of the UIPL relating to the intercept of food stamp overissuances. In Section 1(a) the words "child support obligations" are changed to "an uncollected overissuance of food stamps". In Section (1)(c), the word "of" is changed to "to". Also, on page 14, in the last sentence of item 10 of the UIPL, the first of the two appearances of the word "is" is deleted. Action Required: Please alert appropriate staff of these technical changes. Pen and ink changes should be made to the above referenced UIPLs as indicated.

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