The Department of Labor announced it is awarding $191.5 million to 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for unemployment insurance program integrity and technology infrastructure systems.
According to the agency, the grants are intended to accelerate actions to reduce improper UI payment rates; provide an opportunity for modernizing UI tax and benefits systems; and enable the design of technology-based tools to prevent, detect and recover improper UI payments.
“I was pleased to join Vice President Biden [last week] in announcing efforts to reduce government waste, fraud and abuse,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. “We owe it to the American people, especially those who rely on unemployment insurance as a safety net, to be responsible stewards. This funding will help ensure state UI programs have integrity and run efficiently.”
