Democratic Caucuses Announce Unemployment Insurance Agency Proposal

Liz Gullett

Democratic Caucuses Announce Unemployment Insurance Agency Proposal

Feb 17, 2017

This week the House and Senate Democratic caucuses announced a proposal reforming the state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) and restoring dollars paid by claimants after being wrongfully accused of unemployment fraud. Their proposal follows a finding that the UIA made tens of thousands of false accusations of unemployment fraud. The plan would reimburse the costs incurred by those found to have been who were wrongfully accused, including lost benefits, fees, penalties, legal fees, late fees, and other expenses. It would also expand the statute of limitations on claims related to false fraud allegations against the UIA to include individuals who were wrongly accused between January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2016.

The proposal also aims to make the state’s benefits comparable to other Midwestern states. Including restoring the maximum duration of benefits to twenty-six weeks, increasing the weekly maximum benefit to $483 plus an additional $120 for claimants with children, and indexing the benefit to the cost of inflation. Additionally, it would reduce penalties assessed to fraudulent claimants to a maximum of 100%.

Lastly, the plan would increase the penalty to employers that are more than thirty days late with unemployment tax payments by 100%. This portion of the proposal stems from a 2012 audit that found the UIA had failed to hold employers accountable who didn’t pay their unemployment taxes.

The package of bills is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks.

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