Reporting reemployment of unemployment benefit recipients

Employment and Training Administration, Advisory System
U.S. Department of Labor
Washington, D.C. 20210
Classification: UI
Correspondence symbol: OWS/DPM
Date: October 6, 2005
Rescissions: None
Expiration date: October 31, 2006

ADVISORY: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER No. 1-06

TO: STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM: CHERYL ATKINSON s/s
Administrator
Office of Workforce Security

SUBJECT: Collection of Data on the Facilitation of Reemployment of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefit Recipients

1. Purpose. To announce the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval of the U.S.
   Department of Labor’s (DOL) request to collect data on the facilitation of the reemployment of UI benefit recipients and to provide implementation instructions to the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs).

2. References. Section 303(a)(6), Social Security Act (SSA) [42 U.S.C. 505(a)(6)] and
   Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 14-05 (February 18, 2005).

3. Background. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has established four goals
   for the UI program as part of its strategic plan developed for the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA). These UI program goals are also included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 – 2008 DOL strategic plan:

   • Make Timely Benefit Payments to UI Claimants
   • Detect Overpayments
   • Establish Tax Accounts Promptly
   • Facilitate the Reemployment of UI Claimants

Data are currently available for measuring performance for the first three of these indicators; however, data are not available to measure the degree to which the UI system facilitates the reemployment of UI benefit recipients. The newly approved data collection -- the number of UI beneficiaries who receive a first payment during a calendar quarter who also have earnings in the next calendar quarter -- will support the fourth goal.

ETA will also use the reemployment data to measure state performance under UI Performs, DOL’s performance management system for the UI program. UIPL No. 14-05 informed SWAs of changes made to UI Performs as a result of a review of the performance management system, including the adoption of UI reemployment as a Core Measure.

4. OMB Approval. The data will be collected through the ETA 9047 report -- Reemployment of
   UI Benefit Recipients. A facsimile of this report is provided in the attachment. The reporting requirements for the ETA 9047 report are approved by OMB according to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 under OMB approval No. 1205-0452 to expire July 31, 2008. The Secretary’s authority to implement this reporting requirement is found in the SSA (section 303(a)(6), SSA, 42 U.S.C. 505(a)(6)). Persons are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

5. Burden Disclosure. Based on the results of a six-state pilot test of the reemployment data
   collection conducted during FY 2003, the SWA’s reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 10 hours per response (four responses per year), including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the U. S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Workforce Security (Attn: Andrew Spisak), 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S-4522, Washington, D.C. 20210 (Paperwork Reduction Project 1205-0452).

6. Implementation. Detailed implementation instructions, including automated data processing
   technical requirements and the schedule for the submission of quarterly ETA 9047 reports are provided in the attachment to this advisory. DOL will provide $3,500 to each SWA for start-up programming costs. These are FY 2005 automation funds that must be obligated by September 30, 2007.

No later than March 31, 2006, SWAs should provide reemployment data for the most recent four complete quarters for which state wage record and first payment data are available. SWAs that can provide more than four quarters of data are encouraged to do so. DOL will use this data submission to establish a baseline, which will be used to set initial performance criteria and assess state performance (see section 7). Subsequent to the initial submission of baseline data, SWAs are encouraged to use the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) to obtain reemployment data. If the SWA does not participate in the NDNH crossmatch, the SWA will use its wage record files to obtain data on intrastate employment and the Wage Record Interchange System, Distributive Data Base Index to obtain interstate reemployment data.

7. Performance Measurement. ETA will use the baseline data to develop a statistical model in
   order to set initial performance targets for GPRA and acceptable levels of performance for the UI Performs reemployment Core Measure. After the analysis of the baseline data has been

completed, ETA will update the statistical model with data from subsequent quarters and, if indicated, revise annual performance standards.

Using data available from the Benefit Accuracy Measurement survey, ETA will take into account those beneficiaries who receive earnings for partial employment but are not considered reemployed. ETA will also carefully examine the effects of labor market and UI program characteristics, such as the state’s total and insured unemployment rates, percentage of interstate claimants, and percentage of claimants who are exempt from work search or labor exchange registration requirements, on the SWA's reemployment data. The reemployment measure will accommodate statistically significant state-to-state differences with respect to these labor market and UI program characteristics.

8. Action Required. State Administrators are requested to provide the above information to
   appropriate staff.

9. Inquiries. All inquiries should be directed to the appropriate Regional Administrator.

10. Attachment. Data Collection Methodology, Unemployment Insurance Reemployment
    Measure.

Data Collection Methodology
Unemployment Insurance (UI) Reemployment Measure

The following methodology and operational instructions will be used to collect, report, and analyze data on the reemployment of UI benefit recipients.

1. Identify Claimants Receiving First Payments.

Each State Workforce Agency (SWA) will identify all UI claimants who received a first payment for intrastate or interstate liable claims in the state UI program during each quarter during the calendar year (CY). Criteria for inclusion will follow the definition for first payments used in the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) 5159 report (ET Handbook 401, 3rd edition, section I-2):

Include State UI, Federal Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members (UCX)) claims, including combined wage claims and joint claims involving these programs.

Exclude Extended Benefits and Short Time Compensation (STC), also known as Workshare program claims, and claims filed in temporary extended benefits programs, such as Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation.

2. Identify Claimants Exempt from Work Search Requirements.

For those UI claimants identified in step 1, each state will identify those claimants who are exempt (for whatever reason) from the state’s active work search requirements as of the week ending date of the first week compensated (that is, the week ending date of the claimed week for which the first payment was issued). If no active work search requirement exists in state law or practice, the state will identify those claimants who are exempt (for whatever reason) from the state’s requirement to register for labor exchange services.

3. Create a File of Claimants Receiving First Payments.

Each CY quarter, each SWA will create a file consisting of the records identified in step 1. The following data elements will be included in the file:

• state postal ID: 2-letter alpha. code; for example, AL (Alabama)
• payment date of the first compensated week in the claimant’s benefit year (MMDDYYYY)
• claimant’s Social Security Number (SSN): for example, 111223333
• work search exemption indicator: 0 (not exempt) or 1 (exempt) [from step 2]
• intrastate crossmatch indicator: 0 or 1
• interstate crossmatch indicator: 0 or 1

The number of records in this file should closely approximate the number of first payments reported on the ETA 5159 report, line 303, columns 21 (State UI), 24 (UCFE), and 25 (UCX) for

the three months that constitute the quarter. For example, CY 2005 quarter 1 includes the number of first payments reported on the ETA 5159 reports submitted for January, February, and March 2005, adjusted for those claimants whose UI program classification has changed since the 5159 reports were submitted (for example, a first payment included in the state UI count in the 5159 report that was subsequently determined to be a week compensated for a STC claim). The file should include a single record per claimant. Duplicate SSNs that identify first payments from separate programs (state UI, UCFE, or UCX) will be included in the file as a single record.

As instructed in ET Handbook 401 [p. I-2-3] for the ETA 5159 report, count activities as of the date they occur. Payments and weeks compensated are counted as of the date payments are made (in-person, mailed, or electronically deposited). When there are split weeks, where part of the week's activity falls in one quarter and part in another, the activity for the part of the week in the reference quarter should be counted. The program that creates the file of first payments must include edits to insure that first payments are reported for the correct quarter. The payment date of the first compensated week for each record in the file must fall within the ranges in the following table.

Date of First Payment in: Date of First Payment is > Date of First Payment is <
Quarter Beginning Date: Quarter Ending Date:
1st quarter 01/01/YYYY 03/31/YYYY 2nd quarter 04/01/YYYY 06/30/YYYY 3rd quarter 07/01/YYYY 09/30/YYYY 4th quarter 10/01/YYYY 12/31/YYYY

4. Produce Baseline Data from Intrastate Wage Records.

In order to obtain baseline data, SWAs should run crossmatches for the most recent four quarters for which wage record and first payment data are available as of the date that the SWA completes programming for this data collection. SWAs that can provide more than four quarters of data, up to a maximum of 12 quarters, should do so. SWAs will crossmatch the quarterly files of claimants receiving first payments created in step 3 against the state’s intrastate wage records for the subsequent quarter (Q+1). If the SSN of a UI claimant in the file of first payments matches a SSN of employee wages in the state’s intrastate wage record file for quarter Q+1, the intrastate crossmatch indicator will be set to 1; otherwise, the intrastate crossmatch indicator will be set to 0. Because the initial crossmatches to establish baseline data will include only the intrastate wage records, the interstate crossmatch indicator will be set to 0 for all records. SWAs will submit these baseline data to DOL by March 31, 2006.

5. Produce Quarterly Data Subsequent to Baseline Submission.

Subsequent to the submission of baseline data, the procedures for submitting UI reemployment data will depend on whether the SWA participates in the NDNH crossmatch. In order to begin participation in the NDNH crossmatch in FY 2006 (beginning October 1, 2005), SWAs must complete a Memorandum of Understanding (Computer Matching Agreement), including the Security Addendum, with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) no later than September 15, 2005. OCSE distributed the required documents, schedules, and technical specifications for participation in the NDNH to the SWAs in July.
a. States Participating in the NDNH Crossmatch

SWAs will crossmatch the file created in step 3 against the SWA Quarterly Wage (QW) Output Detail Record received from OCSE for the subsequent quarter (Q+1), identified from the field QW Reporting Period on the SWA QW Output Detail Record. If the SSN of a UI claimant in the file of first payments matches a SSN of a record in the QW Output Detail Record and the SWA submitting the QW record is the same as the SWA submitting the reemployment data (from the Transmitter State Code field in the QW Output Detail Record), the intrastate crossmatch indicator will be set to 1, and the interstate crossmatch indicator will be set to 0.

If the SSN of a UI claimant in the file of first payments matches a SSN of a record in the QW Output Detail Record and the SWA submitting the QW record is the not the same as the SWA submitting the reemployment data, the intrastate crossmatch indicator will be set to 0, and the interstate crossmatch indicator will be set to 1.

If the SSN of a UI claimant in the file of first payments matches a SSN of a record in the QW Output Detail Record and the SWA submitting the QW record was submitted by a federal agency (Transmitter Agency Code field in the SWA QW Output Detail Record), the intrastate crossmatch indicator will be set to 1, and the interstate crossmatch indicator will be set to 0.

Note: Multiple matches reported in the SWA QW Output Detail Record should be counted and reported as a single match for the ETA 9047 report. If there are both intrastate (including federal agencies) and interstate matches, the SWAs should report a single intrastate match.
b. States Not Participating in the NDNH Crossmatch

SWAs will crossmatch the file created in step 3 against the state’s intrastate wage record file for the subsequent quarter (Q+1). If the SSN of a UI claimant in the file of first payments matches a SSN of employee wages in the state’s intrastate wage record file for quarter Q+1, the intrastate crossmatch indicator will be set to 1; otherwise, the intrastate crossmatch indicator will be set to 0.

If the SSN of a UI claimant in the file of first payments does not match a SSN of employee wages in the state’s wage record file for quarter Q+1, these records will be extracted to a second

file, which will be crossmatched against out-of-state wage records for the subsequent quarter (Q+1) through the Wage Record Interchange System (WRIS), Distributive Data Base Index (DDBI). If the SSN of a UI claimant matches a SSN of employee wages in the out-of-state wage record files for quarter Q+1, the interstate crossmatch indicator will be set to 1; otherwise, the interstate crossmatch indicator will be set to 0. The technical specifications for the WRIS / DDBI crossmatch will be disseminated in a separate advisory. Until the WRIS / DDBI crossmatch is implemented, the interstate crossmatch indicator will be set to 0 for all records submitted by states not participating in the NDNH crossmatch.

6. Report Format, Schedule, and Edits.

SWAs will report the number of records in the file of UI first payments with intrastate crossmatch indicators equal to 1, and the number of records in the file of UI first payments with interstate crossmatch indicators equal to 1 in the following format.

ETA 9047 Reemployment of UI Benefit Recipients

State: AA Quarter Ending Date: MM/DD/YYYY
Exemption Number of Number of Number of
Code Claimants Receiving Intrastate Xmatch Hits: Interstate Xmatch Hits:
1st Payments YYYY.Q+1 YYYY.Q+1
0 - Not Exempt x,xxx,xxx y,yyy,yyy z,zzz,zzz 1 - Exempt x,xxx,xxx y,yyy,yyy z,zzz,zzz

Reports will be transmitted to ETA electronically through the UI Required Reports Automatic Transmittal application according to the following schedule:

Quarter in which First Quarter Ending Wage Record File Report Due to ETA By:
Payment is issued: Date: Crossmatched:
1st quarter 03/31/YYYY 04/01/YYYY - November 30
(January to March)
06/30/YYYY
2nd quarter 06/30/YYYY 07/01/YYYY - February 28
(April to June)
09/30/YYYY
3rd quarter 09/30/YYYY 10/01/YYYY - May 31
(July to September)
12/31/YYYY
4th quarter 12/31/YYYY 01/01/YYYY+1 - August 31
(October to December)
03/31/YYYY+1

The following specifications are provided to meet the data entry and transmittal requirements in ET Handbook 402, 4th edition. SWAs will be notified when the required software applications have been installed on the state’s Sun computer system.

Data Map

ETA 9047 Reemployment of UI Benefit Recipients

State: st Quarter Ending Date: rptdate
Exemption Number of Number of Number of
Code
Claimants Receiving Intrastate Xmatch Hits: Interstate Xmatch Hits:
1st Payments YYYY.Q+1 YYYY.Q+1
0 - Not Exempt c1 c2 c3 1 - Exempt c4 c5 c6

ASCII File Format

st char (2)
rptdate date
c1 integer
c2 integer
c3 integer
c4 integer
c5 integer
c6 integer

Data Map Edits

Errors:

c1 though c6 cannot be null
c1+c4 must be > 0
c2+c5 must be > 0
c2+c3 must be <= c1
c5+c6 must be <= c4

Warnings:

c2 < c3
c5 < c6
c2+c3 = c1
c5+c6 = c4