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Benefit Accuracy Measurement reporting year 2020
Summary ETA gave state UI agencies deadlines and procedures for completing 2020 Benefit Accuracy Measurement cases and reconciling data before publication. Its two attachments define paid and denied claims accuracy reports. The PDF expired March 31, 2021, although ETA’s listing still says Active.
Document
Federal guidance
Agency
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Document number
UIPL No. 19-20
Date issued
April 29, 2020
Status
Unknown
ETA’s listing marks this letter Active, but its official accessible PDF prints an expiration date of March 31, 2021. The sources do not reconcile the past date with the listing label.
Status last verified October 24, 2026
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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
April 29, 2020
ADVISORY: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 19-20
TO: STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
FROM: JOHN PALLASCH /s/
Assistant Secretary
SUBJECT: Procedures for the Completion and Publication of Unemployment Insurance
(UI) Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Data for Improper Payment
Information Act (IPIA) Reporting Year 2020
1. Purpose. To provide State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) guidelines and key dates for the
completion of the 2020 UI BAM paid and denied claims sample cases and the publication of
2020 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 administrator by close of business (COB) October 9, 2020; and
c. Ensure that ETA and the appropriate ETA Regional Administrator are:
1) Notified, by November 20, 2020, of any issues that require the reconciliation of
differences between the SWA’s and the ETA’s BAM data, and
2) Provided, by December 11, 2020, the name, address, telephone number, and email
address of the person(s) whom interested parties may contact with questions or
inquiries about the SWA’s BAM data.
3. Summary and Background.
a. Summary – This Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) provides guidelines
and key dates for the completion of the 2020 representative sample cases of UI payments
and denials and the publication of 2020 BAM data. These annual guidelines are issued
under Employment and Training (ET) Handbook No. 395, 5th Edition (Office of
Management and Budget’s (OMB) approval 1205-0245).
RESCISSIONS EXPIRATION DATE
None March 31, 2021
b. Background – Each year, ETA publishes the BAM program IPIA reporting year results
on the U. S. Department of Labor’s (Department’s) website
(https://www.dol.gov/general/maps/) and the Office of Unemployment Insurance’s
website (https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/bqc.asp). Historically, the BAM program IPIA
reporting year release has included an analytical report or a detailed analysis of the BAM
program IPIA reporting 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. The present UIPL continues this practice. This UIPL aligns the data with the
annual financial reporting requirement found in the IPIA, as amended by the Improper
Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 (IPERIA).
4. Guidelines and Key Dates.
a. Completion of IPIA as Amended by IPERIA 2020 BAM Cases. Because the UI
program is considered as out of compliance under IPIA and IPERIA due to exceeding the
10 percent threshold for improper payments, ETA is required to include extensive
information on improper payments, including the estimated improper payment rate, in the
Department’s Annual Financial Report to the 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 2020 reporting purposes, the end of the reporting year is June 30, 2020. IPIA
2020 will include batch range 201927 through 202026. Therefore, all published BAM
data will be based on IPIA 2020 BAM paid and denied claims cases on which the BAM
supervisor has signed off by the date of record, which is the COB 120 days after the end
of the reporting year. States have until COB on October 28, 2020 to close and submit
their cases.
Changes to a SWA’s database after the date of record can result in inconsistencies with
the ETA database. A SWA must not reopen any IPIA 2020 BAM cases after
October 28, 2020, 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.
b. Transmittal of Data and Comment Period. ETA will produce and transmit to each
SWA by November 6, 2020, paid and denied claims accuracy data for that SWA, based
on the IPIA 2020 BAM cases as of October 28, 2020. Before publication, SWAs are
required to run the BAM Paid Claims Annual Report, Denied Claims Error Rates Report,
2
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 23, 2020, ETA will electronically transmit a footnote lookup table
for the IPIA 2020 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 definition, and report footnotes are
available in Attachments I and II. By November 20, 2020, 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 email: [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, DC 20210
ETA staff will address and reconcile issues raised by the SWAs by December 7, 2020.
c. Federal Publication of BAM Data. ETA will publish the IPIA 2020 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. 15-19, p. 14, SWAs
must address BAM program deficiencies in a Corrective Action Plan as a part of the State
Quality Service Plan.
d. Key Dates (No Later Than). The following key dates are the latest dates for completing
the task or action:
06/30/2020 - This date represents the end of the IPIA reporting year and includes batches
201927 through 202026. 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 2020 within 120 days of this date (i.e.,
October 28, 2020).
3
10/09/2020 - 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).
10/23/2020 - 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).
10/23/2020 - Regional offices respond to SWAs on the disposition of SWA requests for
waivers of BAM timeliness requirements.
10/28/2020 - 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, 2020, 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 2020 cases after
October 28, 2020, until they have reviewed the BAM data transmitted by
ETA and verified the data against their SWA database or reconciled any
differences with ETA.
11/6/2020 - ETA transmits the IPIA 2020 BAM data to the SWAs’ BAM Supervisors.
11/20/2020 - 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 4b of this UIPL, with copies to the appropriate ETA regional
administrator.
12/07/2020 - ETA staff members address issues raised by the SWAs and reconcile any
differences between SWA and ETA BAM data.
12/11/2020 - 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 to the attention of Mr.
Ross Miller at the address, email address, or fax listed in section 4b of this
UIPL, with copies to the appropriate ETA regional administrator.
03/31/2021 - The ETA publishes the IPIA 2020 BAM data on the ETA website:
https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/bqc.asp.
5. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate ETA regional office.
4
6. 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 of
Reporting and Data Integrity Risk (Revised June 6, 2018)
UIPL No. 15-19, Additional Planning Guidance for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020
Unemployment Insurance (UI) State Quality Service Plan (SQSP) (June 28, 2019)
UIPL No. 12-19, Procedures for the Completion and Publication of Unemployment
Insurance (UI) Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Data for Improper Payment
Information Act Reporting Year 2019 (May 24, 2019)
7. Attachments.
Attachment I: Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Paid Claims Accuracy Annual
Report, Report Definitions, and Report Footnotes
Attachment II: Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Denied Claims Accuracy Error
Rates Report and Improper Denials Rates Report, Report Definitions, and Report
Footnotes
5
Attachment I (official PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/UIPL/2020/UIPL_19-20_Attachment-I_Acc.pdf)
Attachment I
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: 201927 - 202026
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: 201927 - 202026
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 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.
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 2020 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 IPIA 2020 (BAM batches 201927 through 202026)
and completed (supervisor sign-off) by COB October 28, 2020, 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 2020 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 201927 through 202026.
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. 15-19, p. 14, 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, 2020, divided by the number of valid cases selected for
BAM weekly samples during IPIA 2020 (BAM batches 201927 through 202026). 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 2020 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 II (official PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/UIPL/2020/UIPL_19-20_Attachment-II_Acc.pdf)
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: 11/20/2020
Batch Range: 201927 ~ 202026
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: 11/20/2020
Batch Range: 201927 ~ 202026
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
2020 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 2020 (BAM batches 201927 through 202026) and
completed (supervisor sign-off) by COB October 28, 2020, 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
sample type y, where b_dca_master.samptype = 2 (monetary), 3 (separation), or 4
(nonseparation).
II-5
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 2020 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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