Coding telephone and electronic continued claims in BAM

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 35-97

Subject: Coding Instructions for Continued Week Filing Method for Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) Data Collection Instrument (DCI).

Purpose: To provide State Employment Security Agencies (SESA) with guidelines for coding item f11, key week filing method, in the BAM DCI.

Reference: Benefits Quality Control State Operations Handbook, ET Handbook No. 395 (2nd edition)

Background: With the increasing use of interactive voice response (IVR) and automated telephone data entry systems to file continued claims, the Department has received inquiries concerning whether such claims should be coded in item f11, key week filing method, as telephone (code "4") or other (electronic) claims (code "5"). A review of the BAM data for the July-December 1996 period shows that States are not using the codes uniformly. In order to insure consistent coding of continued claims filing method in the BAM database, the Department has developed the following guidelines. These coding guidelines take effect immediately.

Coding Instructions: The codes used in the BAM DCI are documented in chapter IV of ET Handbook 395. Item f11, key week filing method, includes code "4" (telephone) and code "5" (other, i.e. electronic) to record the method the claimant used to file the continued week claim for which the UI benefit payment subject to the BAM investigation was issued. Code "4" (telephone) will be used for all continued week UI claims filed by claimants who initiate contact with the SESA by telephone. These claims include:

• Voice contacts between the claimant and State agency staff in a local office or service center;

• Interactive voice response systems in which the claimant enters required UI claim data through a voice recording system and/or by entering data from the telephone keypad; and

• Any other automated telephone voice mail system which the SESA has established to accept continued claims for UI benefits.

Code "5" (other, electronic) will be used for continued week UI claims filed using the following methods:

• Direct dial-up (modem) connection between a claimant logged on to a personal computer and the State agency;

• Claimant access to the State agency via the internet, State agency intranet, or other computer network;

• State agency kiosks with automated data processing capability which enables claimants to file continued UI claims;

• Benefit cards that allow claimants to file continued claims and/or receive UI benefits from ATM terminals;

• Electronic facsimile (fax); and

• Any claim initiated or generated by the State's ADP system.

Database Conversion: The Department will contact any State that has used code "5" (other) to verify whether this code was used for IVR telephone claims. The Department will then convert the codes for all such records from "5" to "4" on both the State and Department versions of the database. States which have used code "4", telephone, should verify that this code has been used only for those UI continued claims filed using a method defined for code "4" in section 4 of this UIPL. States should notify the Department (Attention: Andrew Spisak, at (202) 219-5608 ext. 135) if any record has been incorrectly coded and needs to be recoded by the Department.

Action Required: State Administrators are requested to:

a. provide copies of these guidelines to the appropriate staff; and

b. ensure that any records in the BAM database that need to be recoded are identified and that this information is conveyed to Andrew Spisak within 30 days after the issuance of this directive.