FY 2011 unemployment administration allocations and funding

UIPL23-11acc.pdf (https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/UIPL/2011/UIPL23-11acc.pdf)

                                                           CLASSIFICATION
     EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                UI
                 ADVISORY SYSTEM                           CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
            U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                       OUI/DFAS
               Washington, D.C. 20210                      DATE
                                                           July 6, 2011

ADVISORY:           UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 23-11

TO:                 STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:               JANE OATES /s/
                    Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:            Guidelines for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 State Agency Unemployment Insurance
                    (UI) Resource Allocations, Supplemental Budget Requests (SBRs), and
                    Above-Base Funding

1.    Purpose. To provide information to states regarding FY 2011 UI State Administration base
      resource allocations, general guidelines for resource planning, above-base funding, and
      SBRs.

2.    References.
       ET Handbook No. 336, 18th Edition, Change 2 (December 2009), Unemployment
         Insurance State Quality Service Plan (SQSP), Planning and Reporting Guidelines;
       Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 27-10, Fiscal Year (FY) 2011
         State Workforce Agency Unemployment Insurance Resource Planning Targets and
         Guidelines; and
       UIPL No. 23-10, Additional Planning Guidance for the FY 2011 Unemployment
         Insurance State Quality Service Plan (SQSP).

3.    Appropriation. The FY 2011 consolidated spending bill that included the appropriations
      for state UI operations (Public Law 112-10) was enacted on April 15, 2011. The table
      below shows the average weekly insured unemployment (AWIU) levels and the dollar
      amounts of the President’s Budget request and the FY 2011 appropriation. The amounts
      appropriated for FY 2011 reflect the FY 2010 appropriated levels with a 0.2 percent across-
      the-board reduction.

                                   Budget Request          Appropriation            Difference
AWIU Contingency                        6,051,000              6,180,000             +129,000
Trigger
State Administration                 $3,515,079,000        $3,189,254,000       -$325,825,000
REAs                                    $55,000,000           $49,900,000         -$5,100,000
National Activities                     $11,310,000           $11,287,000            -$23,000
Total                                $3,581,389,000        $3,250,441,000       -$330,948,000


 RESCISSIONS                                               EXPIRATION DATE
 None                                                      July 6, 2012

4.   Final Base Allocations. The final FY 2011 base allocations are identical to the planning
     targets.

5.   Above-Base Administration.

        a.   Above-Base and Contingency Reserve. One hundred percent reimbursement for
             above-base administrative expenses is provided under the FY 2011 appropriation.
             In addition, to the extent possible, reductions to allocation factors impacting above-
             base funding will be restored at the end of the fiscal year. It is not expected that
             actual workloads will approach the 6,180,000 AWIU contingency reserve trigger.

        b.   Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC). EUC administrative costs will
             continue to be based on quarterly EUC workloads and funded through the UI-3
             process.

        c.   Support. The above-base overhead remains at 19 percent. Overhead for Trade
             Adjustment Assistance (TAA) administration is also 19 percent.

        d.   Postage. Above-base funding for postage will be issued to states on a quarterly
             basis using the above-base weeks claimed reported on the UI-3 reports. For any
             quarter, above-base weeks claimed will be those in excess of 25 percent of the FY
             2011 base weeks claimed issued in the planning targets. The above-base postage
             will be paid at 25.2 cents per above-base week claimed.

        e.   Trade Redeterminations. Currently, there are no court decisions regarding the TAA
             program that would require the states to make monetary redeterminations. If one
             occurs, states should follow the UI-3 reporting instructions in ET Handbook No.
             336, 18th Edition.

6.   Supplemental Budget Requests (SBRs). The SQSP Handbook contains SBR instructions
     and procedures that remain in place each year unless states are instructed otherwise. States
     may submit a Standard Form (SF) 424 (OMB approval #4040-0004) and SF 424A (OMB
     approval #0348-0444) for additional funds for certain types of administrative costs (listed
     below) that are not funded within the state’s base and above-base grants.

        a.   Special Projects. Proposals from states for Reemployment and Eligibility
             Assessments grants have been solicited. In addition, states will have the
             opportunity to apply for funds for other purposes that improve integrity and
             efficiency. Specific instructions will be provided to states in separate advisories.

        b.   UI Performs Travel. Travel dollars are available for Benefit Accuracy
             Measurement Peer Reviews, Benefits Timeliness and Quality Nonmonetary
             Determinations Tripartite Reviews, Appeals Reviews, and Tax Performance System
             Reviews. States should provide travel estimates and reimbursement requests to the
             Regional Office rather than submitting an SF 424 for these travel dollars.



7.   State Flexibility. States have full authority to shift UI resources among program categories
     as deemed appropriate and necessary to manage and operate their UI programs to meet
     established goals and requirements. The only caveat is that states must use the annual
     allocated staff year level for claims activities for above-base reporting purposes. This
     ensures that states do not earn more above-base resources than they otherwise would have
     been entitled to earn.

8.   Action Requested. State Administrators are requested to provide copies of this information
     to the appropriate staff.

9.   Inquiries. Questions should be addressed to the appropriate Regional Office.