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2023 Benefit Accuracy Measurement completion and publication procedures

Summary ETA gave state unemployment insurance agencies deadlines for completing 2023 Benefit Accuracy Measurement samples, reconciling data and naming contacts for publication. The annual process measures the accuracy of paid and denied claims. This letter prints a March 31, 2024 expiration, although ETA’s listing still labels it active.
Document
Federal guidance
Agency
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Document number
UIPL No. 12-23
Date issued
August 16, 2023
Status
Unknown
ETA’s advisory listing labels this letter Active, but it prints an expiration date of March 31, 2024. Its status is unclear.
Status last verified October 24, 2026

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This page explains the general guidance. Ask about your specific situation and see what current federal labor law says, with citations.

The current status of this document is unclear
ETA’s advisory listing labels this letter Active, but it prints an expiration date of March 31, 2024. Its status is unclear. It may no longer reflect 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.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 16, 2023


ADVISORY:       UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 12-23

TO:             STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:           BRENT PARTON
                Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:        Procedures for the Completion and Publication of Unemployment Insurance
                Benefit Accuracy Measurement Data for Payment Integrity Information Act
                Reporting Year 2023.

1. Purpose. To provide State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) guidelines and key dates for the
   completion of the 2023 Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefit Accuracy Measurement
   (BAM) paid and denied claims sample cases and the publication of 2023 BAM data.

2. Action Requested. The Employment and Training Administration (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 Office by close of business (COB) October 06, 2023; and
   c. Ensure that ETA and the appropriate ETA Regional Office are:
         1) Notified, by November 24, 2023, of any issues that require the reconciliation of
            differences between the SWA’s and the ETA’s BAM data; and
         2) Provided, by January 12, 2024, the name, address, telephone number, and email
            address of the point of contact(s) for the SWA’s BAM published data.

3. Summary and Background.

   a. Summary – This Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) provides guidelines
      and key dates for the completion of the 2023 representative sample cases of UI payments
      and denials and the publication of 2023 BAM data. ETA issues these annual guidelines as
      set out in Employment and Training (ET) Handbook No. 395, 5th Edition (Office of
      Management and Budget (OMB) approval number 1205-0245). The BAM program is
      designed to determine the accuracy of paid and denied claims in three major UI
      programs: regular State UI, Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees, and
      Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers. SWAs select weekly random
      samples of paid and denied claims. Independent state BAM investigators audit these paid
  RESCISSIONS                                              EXPIRATION DATE
  None                                                     March 31, 2024

      and denied claims to determine whether the claimant was properly paid or properly
      denied benefits.

   b. Background – Each year, ETA publishes BAM program reporting year results (BAM
      Annual Report) on its website under “Current Data” located at
      (https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/bqc.asp). U. S. Department of Labor (Department) also
      publishes BAM data on its website (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/unemployment-
      insurance-payment-accuracy/data) each quarter. This quarterly data includes the most
      recent 12 months of data.

      Historically, the BAM program reporting year release has included an analytical report or
      a detailed analysis of these 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. The present UIPL continues this practice. Additionally, this UIPL incorporates
      the annual financial reporting requirement found in the PIIA that Federal programs report
      an annual improper payment rate. The Payment Integrity Information Act (PIIA) repeals
      the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 as amended by the Improper Payments
      Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012.

4. Guidelines and Key Dates.

   a. Completion of PIIA 2023 BAM Cases. The PIIA states that ETA is to provide
      information on improper payments in the UI program, including the improper payment
      estimate, in the Department’s Annual Financial Report to OMB. To accomplish this
      mandate, ETA establishes the PIIA 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 and complete 98 percent of sampled cases
      within 120 days of the ending date of the above annual reporting period. This July-to-
      June reporting period provides the most recent BAM data available to meet the PIIA
      reporting schedule requirements for the fiscal year.

      For PIIA 2023, the reporting period is from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. PIIA 2023
      will include batch range 202227 through 202326. Therefore, all published BAM data will
      be based on PIIA 2023 BAM paid and denied claims cases that the BAM supervisor has
      signed off by the date of record. The BAM supervisor must close and submit cases by the
      COB 120 days after the end of the reporting year or on COB October 30, 2023,
      whichever is later.

      Changes to a SWA’s database after the date of record can result in inconsistencies with
      the ETA database. A SWA must not close or reopen any PIIA 2023 BAM cases after
      October 30, 2023, until the SWA has reviewed the BAM data transmitted to it by ETA
      and has confirmed that the data agrees with the BAM paid claims accuracy and denied
      claims accuracy data produced by the SWA’s databases.



b. Transmittal of Data and Comment Period. No later than October 20, 2023, ETA will
   electronically transmit a footnote lookup table for the PIIA 2023 BAM Paid Claims
   Annual Report, Denied Claims Error Rates Report, and Improper Denials Rates Report to
   each SWA’s Unemployment Insurance Database Management System (UIDBMS) server.

   ETA will produce and transmit to each SWA, by November 10, 2023, paid and denied
   claims accuracy data for that SWA based on the PIIA 2023 BAM cases as of COB
   October 30, 2023. 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.

   By November 24, 2023, SWAs should report any discrepancies or submit questions
   concerning the BAM paid and denied claims data and footnotes to ETA. Please send
   comments electronically to [email protected] with a copy to the appropriate ETA
   Regional Office. Samples of these reports, report definitions, and report footnotes are
   available in Attachments I and II.

   ETA staff will address and reconcile issues raised by the SWAs by December 8, 2023.

   Federal Publication of BAM Data. ETA will publish the PIIA 2023 BAM analytical
   report on the ETA website: https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/bqc.asp.

   If a SWA fails to follow the BAM methodology for sample selection and completion
   requirements, ETA may not publish a state’s data or portion thereof if the state failed to
   follow the BAM methodology as outlined in ET Handbook 395, 5th Edition (for example,
   methodologies regarding minimum sample sizes, population variances, case completion
   percentages, and quality of the BAM audits).

c. Key Dates. The following key dates are the latest dates for completing the task or action:

   7/01/2023      This date represents the end of the PIIA reporting year and includes
                  batches 202227 through 202326. 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 cases sampled in PIIA 2023 by October
                  30, 2023.

   10/06/2023     SWAs submit requests for waivers of BAM paid and denied claims
                  timeliness requirements, along with supporting documentation, to the
                  appropriate ETA Regional Office. Generally, waivers are granted
                  only for catastrophic events (i.e., occurrence by natural causes that
                  could not have been prevented by the exercise of foresight or
                  caution).



       10/20/2023     ETA electronically transmits the footnote lookup table for the BAM
                      paid and denied claims software to each SWA’s UIDBMS server.

       10/30/2023     Each SWA checks its UI database to ensure: 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 30, 2023, will not be included in
                      the Paid Claims Accuracy PIIA Report or the Denied Claim Accuracy
                      Error Rates and Improper Denials Rates Reports. SWAs must not
                      reopen any PIIA 2023 cases after October 30, 2023, until they have
                      reviewed the BAM data transmitted by ETA and verified the data
                      against their SWA database or reconciled any differences with ETA.

       11/03/2023     Regional offices respond to SWAs on the disposition of SWA
                      requests for waivers of BAM timeliness requirements.

       11/10/2023     ETA transmits the PIIA 2023 BAM data to the SWAs’ BAM
                      supervisors.

       11/24/2023     SWAs review BAM paid and denied claims accuracy data and
                      footnotes and report any discrepancies or submit questions about the
                      BAM data or footnotes electronically to [email protected] with a
                      copy to the appropriate ETA Regional Office.

       12/08/2023     ETA staff members address issues raised by the SWAs and reconcile
                      any differences between SWA and ETA BAM data.

       1/12/2024      SWAs provide the name, address, telephone number, and email
                      address of the contact person(s) for public inquiries about BAM paid
                      and denied claims data. SWAs should send this information
                      electronically to [email protected], with a copy to the appropriate
                      ETA Regional Office.

5. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate ETA regional office.

6. References.

   •   Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA), Pub. L. 116-117;
   •   31 U.S.C. § 3515 [Financial statements of agencies];
   •   20 C.F.R. Part 602, Quality Control in the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance
       System; UIPL No. 09-13, Change 1, Integrity Performance Measure for Unemployment,
       issued on January 27, 2015https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-
       insurance-program-letter-no-09-13-change-1;
   •   UIPL No. 17-22, Additional Planning Guidance for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023
       Unemployment Insurance (UI) State Quality Service Plan (SQSP), issued on July 22,
       2022 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-


       letter-no-17-22;
   •   UIPL No. 18-21, Procedures for the Completion and Publication of Unemployment
       Insurance (UI) Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Data for Payment Integrity
       Information Act (PIIA) Reporting Year 2021, issued on May 3, 2021
       https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-
       18-21;
   •   Employment and Training (ET) Handbook No. 395, 5th Edition, Benefit Accuracy
       Measurement State Operations Handbook (November 2009)
       https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/handbooks/2009/ETHandbook_395_Ch5_ac
       c.pdf; and
   •   Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-123, Appendix C,
       Requirements for Payment Integrity Improvement (March 5, 2021).

7. Attachments.

   •   Attachment I: Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Paid Claims Accuracy Annual
       Report, Report Definitions, and Report Footnotes (Sample)
   •   Attachment II: Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Denied Claims Accuracy Error
       Rates Report and Improper Denials Rates Report, Report Definitions, and Report
       Footnotes (Sample)





                                                                                             Attachment I


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


                            BENEFIT ACCURACY MEASUREMENT
                                PAID CLAIMS ACCURACY
                                ANNUAL REPORT (Sample)

                                             STATE: ZZ

                                   Batch Range: 202227 - 202326



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.





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

                                  Batch Range: 202227 - 202326


                   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





                             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 field
      T (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.





                                 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 PIIA 2023 from 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 Emergency 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 PIIA 2023 (BAM batches 202227 through 202326)
and completed (supervisor sign-off) by COB October 30, 2023, 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.

                            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 PIIA 2023 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 202227 through 202326.

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.

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. 17-22, p. 16, 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 30, 2023, divided by the number of valid cases selected for
BAM weekly samples during PIIA 2023 (BAM batches 202227 through 202326). 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.


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 PIIA 2023 vary from the dollars paid
reported in the state’s ETA 5159 Claims and Payment Activities reports by more than the
statistical control limit.





                                                                                               ATTACHMENT II


      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: 11/20/2022
                                       Batch Range: 202227 ~ 202326

                           Denial Type                 Population            Cases Completed*

                            Monetary                     97,029                      143

                           Separation                    77,374                      140

                         Nonseparation                   24,229                      134


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




                                 BENEFIT ACCURACY MEASUREMENT
                                    DENIED CLAIMS ACCURACY
                                 IMPROPER DENIALS RATES REPORT
                                               State: ZZ
                                        Report Date: 11/20/2022
                                     Batch Range: 202227 ~ 202326

                        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).





BAM Denied Claims Accuracy Rates Report Definitions

Population

The number of denial determinations that constitute the sampling frames for all weeks in PIIA
2023 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 PIIA 2023 (BAM batches 202227 through 202326) and
completed (supervisor sign-off) by COB October 30, 2023, 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.





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.





                           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 PIIA 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 30 YYYY+1, divided by the number of
valid cases selected for BAM DCA weekly samples during PIIA 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
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 PIIA 2022 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).

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