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2018 UI benefit accuracy reporting schedule

Summary ETA gave state unemployment agencies deadlines and procedures for completing 2018 Benefit Accuracy Measurement paid and denied claims cases and reviewing the data before federal publication. The attachments reproduce reporting formats and definitions. This annual instruction addressed the 2018 reporting cycle and ETA now lists it as Canceled.
Document
Federal guidance
Agency
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Document number
UIPL No. 09-18
Date issued
August 6, 2018
Status
Withdrawn
ETA's listing marks this letter Canceled as of 2026-10-24; its PDF gives March 31, 2019 as the expiration date. The deadlines apply to the 2018 BAM reporting cycle.
Status last verified October 24, 2026

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This document has been withdrawn
ETA's listing marks this letter Canceled as of 2026-10-24; its PDF gives March 31, 2019 as the expiration date. The deadlines apply to the 2018 BAM reporting cycle. It no longer reflects the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.
CLASSIFICATION
   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION              Unemployment Insurance
               ADVISORY SYSTEM                         CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
          U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                     OUI/DPM
             Washington, D.C. 20210                    DATE
                                                       August 6, 2018

ADVISORY:        UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 09-18

TO:              STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:            ROSEMARY LAHASKY /s/
                 Deputy Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:         Procedures for the Completion and Publication of Unemployment
                 Insurance (UI) Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Data for
                 Improper Payment Information Act Reporting Year 2018

1. Purpose. To provide State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) guidelines and key dates for the
   completion of the 2018 UI BAM paid and denied claims sample cases and the publication of
   2018 BAM data. This annual instruction is issued under Employment and Training (ET)
   Handbook No. 395, 5th Edition’s OMB approval 1205-0245.

2. References.
    Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 (IPIA), Pub. L. No. 107-300, as amended by
      the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (IPERIA),
      Pub. L. 112-248, 31 U.S.C. § 3321 note;
    31 U.S.C. § 3515 [Financial statements of agencies];
    20 C.F.R. Part 602, Quality Control in the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance
      System;
    Employment and Training (ET) Handbook No. 395, 5th Edition, Benefit Accuracy
      Measurement State Operations Handbook (November 2009);
    Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-123, Management’s
      Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control (Revised July 15,
      2016);
    Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 21-17, Additional Planning
      Guidance for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Unemployment Insurance (UI) State Quality
      Service Plan (SQSP) (August 4, 2017); and
    UIPL No. 15-17, Procedures for the Completion and Publication of Unemployment
      Insurance (UI) Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Data for Improper Payment
      Information Act (IPIA) Reporting Year 2017 (March 31, 2017).

3. Background. Each year, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) Employment and
   Training Administration’s (ETA’s) national office publishes the BAM program calendar year

 RESCISSIONS                                           EXPIRATION DATE
 None                                                  March 31, 2019

   results on the Department’s (www.dol.gov/dol/maps/map-ipia.htm) and the Office of
   Unemployment Insurance’s (https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/bqc.asp) websites. Historically,
   the BAM calendar year release has included an analytical report or a detailed analysis of the
   calendar year results. As part of this process, ETA announces the publication cycle with the
   issuance of a UIPL, which provides dates for case completion, verification of data contained
   in the national database, and an explanation of data footnotes. This UIPL continues that
   practice. This issuance constitutes publication according to a newly established analytical
   report year to align it with the annual financial reporting requirement found in the IPIA, as
   amended by IPERIA.

4. Completion of IPIA as Amended by IPERIA 2018 BAM Cases. Because the UI
   program is considered as out of compliance under IPIA and IPERIA due to exceeding the
   ten percent threshold for improper payments, ETA is required to include extensive
   information on improper payments, including the estimated improper payment rate, in the
   Department of Labor’s Annual Financial Report to the Office of Management and Budget
   (OMB). To accomplish this mandate, ETA establishes the IPIA reporting year for the BAM
   program, which includes payment accuracy estimates for the period beginning in July and
   continuing through June of the following year (BAM batch range YYYY27 through
   (YYYY+1) 26). ETA has established standards that states complete a minimum 95 percent
   of sampled cases within 90 days of the week ending date of the batch (BAM sampling week),
   and complete 98 percent of sampled cases within 120 days of the ending date of the annual
   reporting period [ET Handbook 395, 5th edition, p. VI-11]. The July to June reporting period
   is the most recent BAM data available to meet the IPIA reporting schedule requirements for
   the fiscal year.

   For IPIA 2018 reporting purposes, the end of the year is June 30, 2018. IPIA 2018 will
   include batch range 201727 through 201826, which covers the period beginning July 2, 2017
   through June 30, 2018. Therefore, all published BAM data will be based on IPIA 2018 BAM
   paid and denied claims cases on which the BAM supervisor has signed off by the date of
   record, which is the close of business (COB) on the date 120 days after the end of the
   reporting year, i.e., October 28, 2018.

   Changes to a SWA’s databases after the date of record can result in inconsistencies with the
   ETA database. A SWA must not reopen any IPIA 2018 BAM cases after October 28, 2018,
   until the SWA has reviewed the BAM data transmitted to it by ETA and has confirmed that
   the data agree with the BAM paid claims accuracy and denied claims accuracy data produced
   by the SWA’s databases.

5. Transmittal of Data and Comment Period. ETA will produce and transmit to each
   SWA by November 16, 2018, paid and denied claims accuracy data for that SWA, based
   on the IPIA 2018 BAM cases as of October 28, 2018. Before publication, SWAs are
   required to run the BAM Paid Claims Annual Report, Denied Claims Error Rates Report,
   and Improper Denials Rates Report software and to compare the results with the rates and
   report footnotes that were transmitted to them for comment.


   No later than October 26, 2018, ETA will electronically transmit a footnote lookup table for
   the IPIA 2018 BAM Paid Claims Annual Report, Denied Claims Error Rates Report, and
   Improper Denials Rates Report to each SWA’s Unemployment Insurance Database System
   (Sun Server). Samples of these reports, report definitions, and report footnotes are available
   in Attachments 1 and 2. By November 30, 2018, SWAs should report any discrepancies or
   submit questions concerning the BAM paid and denied claims data and footnotes to ETA,
   with a copy to the appropriate ETA regional administrator. Please send comments to Ross
   Miller by e-mail: [email protected], fax: (202) 693-3975, or mail:

   Mr. Ross Miller
   U. S. Department of Labor
   ETA / Office of Unemployment Insurance
   200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S-4519
   Washington, D.C. 20210

   ETA staff will address and reconcile issues raised by the SWAs by December 7, 2018.

6. Federal Publication of BAM Data. ETA will publish the IPIA 2018 BAM analytical report
   on the ETA website: https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/bqc.asp.

   ETA staff continuously monitor state performance with respect to the BAM administrative
   requirements established in ET Handbook 395, 5th Edition (for example, minimum sample
   sizes, population variances, case completion percentages and timeliness, and quality of the
   BAM audits). According to UIPL No. 21-17, p. 12, SWAs must address BAM program
   performance deficiencies in a Corrective Action Plan as a part of the State Quality Service
   Plan.

7. Key Dates (No Later Than). The following key dates are the latest dates for completing the
   task or action:

   06/30/18 - This date represents the end of the IPIA reporting year and includes batches
              201727 through 201826. By this date, SWAs must have selected the minimum
              number of valid cases to meet annual sample allocation requirements (i.e., 480 or
              360 paid claim cases and 150 of each of the three types of denied claims). SWAs
              must complete at least 98 percent of the valid sample cases sampled in IPIA 2018
              within 120 days of this date (i.e., October 28, 2018).

   10/12/18 - SWAs submit requests for waivers of BAM paid and denied claims timeliness
              requirements, along with supporting documentation, to the appropriate ETA
              regional administrator. Generally, waivers are only granted for catastrophic
              events (i.e., occurrence by natural causes that could not have been prevented by
              the exercise of foresight or caution).


   10/26/18 - ETA electronically transmits the footnote lookup table for the BAM paid and
              denied claims software to each SWA’s Unemployment Insurance Database
              System (Sun Server).

   10/26/18 - Regional offices respond to SWAs on the disposition of SWA requests for
              waivers of BAM timeliness requirements.

   10/28/18 - Each SWA checks its UI database to ensure that: 1) the BAM supervisor has
              signed off on all BAM paid and denied claims cases that investigators have
              completed; and 2) reopened cases have been updated and data errors corrected by
              this date. Cases closed by supervisors after COB on October 28, 2018, will not be
              included in the Paid Claims Accuracy IPIA Report or the Denied Claim Accuracy
              Error Rates and Improper Denials Rates Reports. SWAs must not reopen any
              IPIA 2018 cases after October 28, 2018, until they have reviewed the BAM data
              transmitted by ETA and verified the data against their SWA database or
              reconciled any differences with ETA.

   11/16/18 - ETA transmits the IPIA 2018 BAM data to the SWAs’ BAM Supervisors.

   11/30/18 - SWAs review BAM paid and denied claims accuracy data and footnotes, and
              report any discrepancies or submit questions about the BAM data or footnotes to
              ETA (to the attention of Mr. Ross Miller, as discussed in Section 5 of this
              guidance), with copies to the appropriate ETA regional administrator.

   12/07/18 - ETA staff address issues raised by the SWAs and reconcile any differences
              between SWA and ETA BAM data.

   12/14/18 - SWAs provide the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the
              contact person(s) for public inquiries about BAM paid and denied claims data.
              SWAs should send this information to the attention of Mr. Ross Miller at the
              address, e-mail address, or fax listed in Section 5 of this guidance, with copies to
              the appropriate ETA regional administrator.

   3/29/19 - The ETA publishes the IPIA 2018 BAM data on the ETA website:
             https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/bqc.asp.

8. Action Requested. ETA requests that SWA Administrators:

   A. Provide copies of these guidelines to the appropriate staff;
   B. Send any request for a waiver of BAM timeliness requirements to the appropriate ETA
      regional administrator by COB October 12, 2018; and
   C. Ensure that ETA and the appropriate ETA regional administrator are:

                                    1.   Notified, by November 30, 2018, of any issues that require the reconciliation of
              differences between the SWA’s and the ETA’s BAM data; and


                                        2.   Provided, by December 14, 2018, the name, address, telephone number, and e-
               mail address of the person(s) whom interested parties may contact with questions
               or inquiries about the SWA’s BAM data.

9. Inquiries. Please direct questions to the appropriate ETA regional office.

10. Attachments.

   Attachment 1 - Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Paid Claims Accuracy Annual
                  Report, Report Definitions, and Report Footnotes
   Attachment 2 - Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Denied Claims Accuracy Error
                  Rates Report and Improper Denials Rates Report, Report Definitions, and
                  Report Footnotes

Attachment (official PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/UIPL/2018/UIPL_9-18_Attachment-1_acc.pdf)

ATTACHMENT 1

Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Paid Claims Accuracy Annual Report, Report
Definitions, and Report Footnotes

                                 BENEFIT ACCURACY MEASUREMENT
                                     PAID CLAIMS ACCURACY
                                          ANNUAL REPORT

                                                  STATE: ZZ

                                        Batch Range: 201727 - 201826


    Total Dollars Paid in Population                                                           $221,830,728

    Sample Size                                                                                             383

                                                                 Percentage                95% Confidence
                                                                 Of Dollars                  Interval (+ / -)

    Proper Payments                                                   88.1%                                3.5%

    Overpayments                                                      11.6%                                3.5%

    Total                                                            100.0%

    Underpayments                                                      0.3%                                0.2%


    Percentages apply to less than a complete year of UI payments; the State did not pull a sample for 3
    week(s).

    The State completed 83.7% of the cases within 90 days.
    The Quality Control (QC) program standard is 95% completed within 90 days.

    15.9% of the sample cases were not completed when this report was prepared. This exceeded the QC
    program requirement that no more than 2% of the cases for the year remain incomplete.


                                                       I-1

                            BENEFIT ACCURACY MEASUREMENT
                                 PAID CLAIMS ACCURACY
                             ANNUAL REPORT (Supplemental Data)
                                           STATE: ZZ

                                  Batch Range: 201727 - 201826


                   Responsibility for Overpayments (Percent of Dollars Overpaid)

Claimant Only                                                                      51.6

Agency Only                                                                        15.6

Claimant + Agency                                                                  10.6

Claimant + Employer                                                                10.5

Employer Only                                                                       8.6

Claimant + Employer + Agency                                                        2.1

Claimant + Other                                                                    1.7

Employer + Agency                                                                   1.0

Other Only                                                                          0.0

Employer + Other                                                                    0.0

Agency + Other                                                                      0.0

Claimant + Employer + Other                                                         0.0

Claimant + Agency + Other                                                           0.0

Employer + Agency + Other                                                           0.0

Claimant + Employer + Agency + Other                                                0.0

Responsibility Not Specified                                                        0.0


                                                I-2

                             Cause for Overpayments (Percent of Dollars Overpaid)

      Benefit Year Earnings Issues                                                                            39.1

      Eligibility Issues Excluding Work Search                                                                25.7

      Separation Issues                                                                                       20.5

      Base Period Wage Issues                                                                                  7.4

      Other Issues                                                                                             5.9

      Work Search Issues                                                                                       2.9


      N
      O    The percentages for the responsibilities or cause do not sum to 100 percent. You should check
      T    field (h5) to verify that all cases have been coded correctly within your specified batch range.
      E

If cause and responsibility percentages do not add up to 100 percent, states should check for cases in which the key
week amount overpaid coded in data element h5 in the b_master table of the UI database does not equal the sum of
dollars overpaid coded in data element ei1 for key week actions 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15 in the b_errisu table. The
amount overpaid cannot exceed the amount paid coded in data element f13 in the b_master table.


                                                         I-3

                                 BAM Annual Report Definitions

Total Dollars Paid in Population

Total UI benefits paid to the population of UI claimants who constitute the sampling frames for
all weeks in IPIA 2018 for which the State pulled a BAM sample, adjusted to exclude UI
payments that do not meet the definition of the BAM population (for example, supplemental
payments or payments made for Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC) claims). These
excluded cases are coded “8” (EUC) or “9” (all other excluded records) in the program code data
element (c1) in the b_master table of the UI database.

Sample Size

Total number of UI payments selected during IPIA 2018 (BAM batches 201727 through 201826)
and completed (supervisor sign-off) by COB October 28, 2018, excluding cases that do not meet
the BAM population definition. This is the number of BAM sample cases from which the
payment accuracy rates and confidence intervals are estimated.

Proper Payments

The weighted ratio estimate of total dollars properly paid to total dollars paid expressed as a
percentage.

Overpayments

The weighted ratio estimate of total dollars overpaid to total dollars paid expressed as a
percentage.

Underpayments

The weighted ratio estimate of total dollars underpaid to total dollars paid expressed as a
percentage.

Weighting Procedures

UI benefits properly paid, overpaid, and underpaid for each batch with at least two completed
paid claims cases are weighted by the batch population, adjusted to exclude cases that do not
meet the BAM definition (program code “8” or “9”). The accuracy rates are the ratios of these
weighted benefits, summed for all batches. Batches with only one completed case are merged to
ensure that each batch has a minimum of two completed cases.

95 Percent Confidence Interval

A confidence interval, expressed as +/- x percentage points, is constructed for each of the three
estimated rates. The actual rate is expected to lie within 95 percent of the intervals constructed
from repeated samples of the same size and selected in the same manner as the BAM sample.

                                                 I-4

                            BAM Paid Claims Accuracy Footnotes

Footnote 1

Claimants failing to conduct required work search were given formal warnings, and no
overpayment was established. The proper payment rate would be lower, and the overpayment
rate would be higher if these cases were counted as erroneous payments.

Condition: Any IPIA 2018 BAM case with key week action code ‘14’ in field ei2 of the b_errisu
table of the UI database.

Footnote 2

Percentages apply to less than a complete year of UI payments due to the State not pulling a
sample for x weeks.

Condition: There is no record in the b_comparison table of the UI database for one or more
BAM batches 201727 through 201826.

Note: If the State requested and received permission from ETA to suspend BAM sampling
temporarily due to a catastrophic event or another approved reason, the footnote will reflect that
ETA concurred with the suspension.

Footnote 3

The State selected samples that were below the minimum prescribed levels for x weeks.

Condition: State selected one or more BAM weekly samples below the minimum level
prescribed in Benefit Accuracy Measurement State Operations Handbook, ET Handbook No.
395, 5th Edition chapter VI, p. 11. Sampled cases that fail to meet the BAM population definition
are counted toward meeting the minimum weekly sample.

The minimum weekly and quarterly samples, based on current annual sample allocations are:

 Sample               Annual          Normal        Minimum        Normal          Minimum
                    Allocation        Weekly         Weekly       Quarterly        Quarterly
 Paid Claims           360*               7              5            90                81
 Paid Claims            480               9              6           120               108
 Denials            150/450**             3              2          37-38               32

* Allocation for the ten smallest states in terms of UI workload.
** 150 cases each of monetary, separation, and non-separation denials will be selected each year,
   for a total of 450 Denied Claims Accuracy cases.

Note: If a state requested and received permission from ETA to reduce BAM sample sizes
temporarily due to workload contingencies, the footnote will reflect that ETA concurred with the
reduction.

                                                I-5

Footnote 4

Percentages based on data collection procedures that were not completely in accordance with the
program methodology prescribed in ET Handbook No. 395, 5th Edition.

Condition: ETA staff continuously monitors state performance with respect to the BAM
administrative requirements established in ET Handbook 395, 5th Edition (for example,
minimum sample sizes, population variances, case completion percentages and timeliness, and
quality of the BAM audits). According to UIPL No. 21-17, p. 12, states must address BAM
program performance deficiencies in a Corrective Action Plan as a part of the State Quality
Service Plan.

Footnote 5

The state completed x percent of the cases within 90 days. The program standard is 95 percent
completed within 90 days.

Condition: State failed to meet case completion objectives established in ET Handbook No. 395,
5th Edition, Benefit Accuracy Measurement State Operations Handbook, chapter VI, p. 11. Cases
not meeting the BAM population definition are not counted in calculating state time lapse rates.

Footnote 6

x percent of the sample cases were not completed when this report was prepared. This exceeded
the program requirement that no more than two (2) percent of the cases for the year remain
incomplete.

Condition: The percentage is based on the number of BAM cases that were not completed (no
supervisor sign-off) by COB October 28, 2018, divided by the number of valid cases selected for
BAM weekly samples during IPIA 2018 (BAM batches 201727 through 201826). Cases that do
not meet the BAM population definition are not counted in calculating state case completion
rates.

Footnote 7

The annual sample for [state] is x cases below the allocated annual sample for the state. The
precision of the data might be reduced due to the failure to sample at the prescribed level.

Condition: The state’s annual sample selection is below its allocated annual sample. Cases that
do not meet the BAM population definition are not counted toward meeting the annual sample
allocation.

Note: If a state requested and received permission from ETA to reduce BAM sample sizes
temporarily due to workload contingencies, the footnote will reflect that ETA concurred with the
reduction.


                                               I-6

Footnote 8

The population from which the BAM sample was selected did not include all of the UI benefits
paid. This limits the degree to which inferences about the population can be made from BAM
data.

Condition: The dollars paid in the BAM population for IPIA 2018 vary from the dollars paid
reported in the state’s ETA 5159 Claims and Payment Activities reports by more than the
statistical control limit.


                                             I-7

Attachment (official PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/UIPL/2018/UIPL_9-18_Attachment-2_acc.pdf)

ATTACHMENT 2

Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Denied Claims Accuracy Error Rates Report and
Improper Denials Rates Report, Report Definitions, and Report Footnotes
                               BENEFIT ACCURACY MEASUREMENT (BAM)
                                  DENIED CLAIMS ACCURACY (DCA)
                                        ERROR RATES REPORT
                                                State: ZZ
                                         Report Date: 11/30/2018
                                      Batch Range: 201727 ~ 201826

                        Denial Type                 Population             Cases Completed*

                    Monetary                           97,029                       143

                    Separation                         77,374                       140

                    Nonseparation                      24,229                       134


                                                               Adjusted
      Denial Type         Total            Improper            Improper        Overpayment            Proper
                          Errors            Denial             Denial**                              Denial***

  Monetary                  16.52%            14.85%              8.05%                0.00%               1.67%

  Separation                28.59%            16.12%             15.87%                0.00%             12.47%

  Nonseparation             40.74%            14.02%             14.02%                0.00%             26.71%
          Excludes cases not meeting DCA definition for inclusion in population, withdrawn claims, and claims

    *        for which monetary eligibility was established upon receipt of combined wage claim (CWC),
          unemployment compensation for federal employees (UCFE), and/or unemployment compensation for
          ex-servicemembers (UCX) wage credits.
          Adjusted rate excludes erroneous denials that were corrected by agency or reversed on appeal prior to
 **
          DCA case completion.
 ***      Properly denied, but for wrong reason or section of the law.
 The state completed 76.35 percent of the Monetary denials sample cases within 90 days. The program standard
 is 85 percent completed within 90 days.
 The state completed 78.43 percent of the Separation denials sample cases within 90 days. The program
 standard is 85 percent completed within 90 days.
 The state completed 79.87 percent of the Nonseparation denials sample cases within 90 days. The program
 standard is 85 percent completed within 90 days.
 Estimated rates apply to less than the total population of Monetary denials due to the state not pulling a sample
 for 1 week(s).
 Estimated rates apply to less than the total population of Separation denials due to the state not pulling a sample
 for 1 week(s).
 Estimated rates apply to less than the total population of Nonseparation denials due to the state not pulling a
 sample for 1 week(s).


                                                        II-1

                                 BENEFIT ACCURACY MEASUREMENT
                                    DENIED CLAIMS ACCURACY
                                 IMPROPER DENIALS RATES REPORT
                                               State: ZZ
                                        Report Date: 11/30/2018
                                     Batch Range: 201727 ~ 201826

                       Denial Type                Population             Cases Completed*

                   Monetary                          97,029                       143

                   Separation                        77,374                       140

                   Nonseparation                     24,229                       134


                                                                       Adjusted
                          Improper               95% C.I                                        95% C.I
     Denial Type                                                       Improper
                           Denial                  (+/-)                                          (+/-)
                                                                       Denial**

Monetary                        14.85%                 5.77%                  8.05%                     4.51%

Separation                      16.12%                 6.45%                 15.87%                     6.43%

Nonseparation                   14.02%                 6.13%                 14.02%                     6.13%

*      Excludes cases not meeting DCA definition for inclusion in population, withdrawn claims, and claims
       for which monetary eligibility was established upon receipt of CWC, UCFE, and/or UCX wage credits.
       Adjusted rate excludes erroneous denials that were corrected by agency or reversed on appeal prior to
**
       DCA case completion.
Note: 95% C.I. is the 95 percent confidence interval for the estimated rate. The interval is the range between
the rate minus the value in the 95% C.I. column and the rate plus the value in the 95% C.I. column. For
example, the interval for 10.0% +/- 2.5 is 7.5% to 12.5%. The true rate is expected to lie within 95 percent
of the intervals constructed from repeated samples of the same size and selected in the same manner as the
BAM DCA sample.
The state completed 76.35 percent of the Monetary denials sample cases within 90 days. The program
standard is 85 percent completed within 90 days.
The state completed 78.43 percent of the Separation denials sample cases within 90 days. The program
standard is 85 percent completed within 90 days.
The state completed 79.87 percent of the Nonseparation denials sample cases within 90 days. The program
standard is 85 percent completed within 90 days.
Estimated rates apply to less than the total population of Monetary denials due to the state not pulling a
sample for 1 week(s).
Estimated rates apply to less than the total population of Separation denials due to the state not pulling a
sample for 1 week(s).
Estimated rates apply to less than the total population of Nonseparation denials due to the state not pulling a
sample for 1 week(s).


                                                      II-2

BAM Denied Claims Accuracy Rates Report Definitions

Population

The number of denial determinations that constitute the sampling frames for all weeks in IPIA
2018 for which the state pulled a BAM DCA sample, adjusted to exclude agency actions that do
not meet the definition of the BAM DCA population (for example, monetary redeterminations,
nonmonetary determinations that are not reportable on the ETA 207 and 9052 reports, and denied
emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) claims). These excluded cases are coded “8”
(EUC) or “9” (all other excluded records) in the Program code data element in the b_dca_master
table of the UI database. The software also adjusts the DCA populations to exclude two types of
cases for which there is no denial issue to investigate: 1) cases in which monetary eligibility was
established upon receipt of Combined Wage Claims, Alternative Base Period Claims,
Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees, and/or Unemployment Compensation for
Ex-service members wage credits within the two-week sampling lag (Action Code Flag “0”); and
2) claims withdrawn by the claimant (Action Code Flag “8”).

Sample Size

Total DCA cases selected during IPIA 2018 (BAM batches 201727 through 201826) and
completed (supervisor sign-off) by COB October 28, 2018, excluding cases that do not meet the
BAM DCA population definition. This is the number of BAM DCA sample cases from which
the accuracy rates are estimated.

Improper Denial Rate

The weighted proportion of denied claims for which the DCA investigation concluded that the
claimant should have been eligible for UI benefits or was underpaid UI benefits (Error Issue
Action Code = “20”, “21”, “22”, or “23”), expressed as a percentage.

Adjusted Improper Denial Rate

Improper Denial Rate excluding cases in which erroneous denials were corrected by the agency
(Prior Agency Action = “20” to “29” or eligibility was established through appeal (Results of
Appeal of Initial Determination = “1” or “3”) prior to DCA case completion.

Overpayment Rate

The weighted proportion of denied claims for which the DCA investigation concluded that the
claimant should have been ineligible for UI, or should have received a lower benefit amount, for
weeks that had been paid (Error Issue Action Code = “10”, “11”, “12”, “13”, “14”, “15”, or
“16”), expressed as a percentage.


                                               II-3

Proper Denial Rate

The weighted proportion of denied claims for which the DCA investigation concluded that the
claimant was properly denied but for the wrong or different reason/section of the law (Error Issue
Action Code = “30”), expressed as a percentage.

Weighting Procedures

Accuracy rates are computed separately for each batch with at least two completed DCA cases
and weighted by the batch population, adjusted to exclude cases that do not meet the BAM DCA
definition (Program code “8” or “9”) or cases with Action Codes “0” (monetary eligibility
established upon receipt of CWC, UCFE, and/or UCX wage credits) or “8” (withdrawn claims).
The accuracy rate equals the sum of the products of the batch rates and weights. Batches with
only one completed case are merged to ensure that each batch has a minimum of two completed
cases.

95 Percent Confidence Interval

A confidence interval, expressed as +/- x percentage points, is constructed for each of the
estimated accuracy rates. The actual rate is expected to lie within 95 percent of the intervals
constructed from repeated samples of the same size and selected in the same manner as the BAM
sample.


                                               II-4

                           BAM Denied Claims Accuracy Footnotes

Footnote 1

Estimated rates apply to less than the total population of [sample type] denials due to the state
not pulling a sample for x weeks.

Condition: There is no record in the b_dca_comparison table of the UI database for one or more
batches specified in the batch range for sample type y, where b_dca_comparison.samptype = 2
(monetary), 3 (separation), or 4 (nonseparation).

Footnote 2

Estimated rates for [sample type] denials are based on data collection procedures that were not
completely in accordance with the program methodology prescribed in ET Handbook No. 395,
5th edition.

Condition: Based on program monitoring conducted by ETA’s national and regional offices, this
footnote will be generated from a footnote look-up table for each sample type: 2 (monetary), 3
(separation), or 4 (nonseparation).

Footnote 3

The state completed x percent of the [sample type] denials sample cases within 90 days. The
program standard is 85 percent completed within 90 days.

Condition: The percentage for sample type y, where b_dca_master.samptype = 2 (monetary), 3
(separation), or 4 (nonseparation), will be calculated using the same method used in the BAM
DCA Case Completion and Time Lapse report. Cases not meeting the BAM DCA population
definition (b_dca_master.program = 8 or 9) or withdrawn claims (b_dca_master.actflag = 8) are
not counted in calculating state time lapse rates.

Footnote 4

x percent of the [sample type] denials sample cases were not completed when this report was
prepared. This exceeds the program requirement that no more than 2 percent of the cases for the
year are incomplete 120 days after the end of the IPIA reporting year.

Condition: The percentage is based on the number of BAM DCA cases that were not completed
(b_dca_master.supcomp is NULL) by COB October 28, YYYY+1, divided by the number of
valid cases selected for BAM DCA weekly samples during IPIA YYYY (BAM batches
YYYY27 through (YYYY+1)26). Cases that do not meet the BAM DCA population definition
(b_dca_master.program = 8 or 9) or withdrawn claims (b_dca_master.actflag = 8) are not
counted in calculating state case completion rates. A percentage will be calculated for each


                                                II-5

sample type y, where b_dca_master.samptype = 2 (monetary), 3 (separation), or 4
(nonseparation).
This footnote will be generated only if the user specifies an annual report when the user specifies
the batch range (YYYY27 through (YYYY+1)26).

Footnote 5

The annual sample of [sample type] denials is x cases below the allocated annual sample of 150
BAM DCA cases per year. The precision of the data might be reduced due to the failure to
sample at the prescribed level.

Condition: The state’s annual sample selection is 8 or more cases below its allocated annual
sample of 150 cases. Cases that do not meet the BAM population definition
(b_dca_master.program = 8 or 9) are not counted toward meeting the annual sample allocation.
This footnote will be generated from a footnote look-up table for each sample type: 2
(monetary), 3 (separation), or 4 (nonseparation).

This footnote will be generated only if the user specifies an annual report when the user specifies
the batch range (YYYY27 through (YYYY+1)26).

Footnote 6

The sampling frames from which the [sample type] denials samples were selected may not
include all of the determinations that meet the definition for inclusion in the DCA population or
may include records that do not meet the DCA population definition. This limits the degree to
which inferences about the population can be made from BAM DCA data.

Condition: The size of the DCA population for IPIA 2018 varies by more than the statistical
control limit from the benchmark population. The benchmark populations are:

      Monetary: Percent of determinations denied in ETA 218 report times number of new
       initial claims (intrastate and interstate liable) plus transitional claims in ETA 5159 report.

      Separation: Percent of determinations denied in ETA 207 report times number of
       separations in ETA 9052 report.

      Nonseparation: Percent of determinations denied in ETA 207 report times number of
       nonseparations in ETA 9052 report.

This footnote will be generated from a footnote look-up table for each sample type: 2 (monetary),
3 (separation), or 4 (nonseparation).

This footnote will be generated only if the user specifies an annual report when the user specifies
the batch range (YYYY27 through (YYYY+1)26).


                                                II-6

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