US Tells States to Deal with Unemployment Fraud -- or Face Penalties
- On Wednesday, Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling sent letters to 53 U.S. states and territories demanding immediate action to combat unemployment insurance fraud, threatening to withhold administrative funds for the first time in history.
- Vice President JD Vance's anti-fraud task force is overseeing the initiative, which follows Government Accountability Office estimates that fraud accounted for 11% to 15% of unemployment insurance payouts from April 2020 through May 2023.
- The Labor Department cited poor oversight, outdated technology, and weak identity verification in California, Illinois, and New York as systemic failures allowing unprecedented fraud to flourish in these three states.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office criticized the move, with spokesperson Marissa Saldivar blaming "lax regulations and rushed distribution" of benefits by the first Trump administration during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Labor Department will issue further directives in coming weeks as the administration expands enforcement tactics previously used by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services against state programs.
65 Articles
65 Articles
Trump Threatens to Withhold Unemployment Funds From Every State in America
The Trump administration is now threatening something so sweeping it almost sounds like a dare: cut off federal unemployment assistance funding to every state in the country. All 50 of them. Plus territories. The stated reason is the administration’s familiar mantra: “fraud, waste, and abuse.” But the scale of the threat is what’s raising eyebrows. Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling sent a letter to governors warning that the federal govern…
The Toronto Star
US tells states to deal with unemployment fraud or face penalties
The U.S. Labor Department told all 50 states on Wednesday that they need to get serious about fighting fraud and waste in unemployment insurance, or else they won't get more
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Washington TimesU.S. tells states to deal with unemployment fraud or face penalties
The U.S. Department of Labor told states Wednesday to take immediate action to combat fraud, waste and abuse in their unemployment insurance programs —...
The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday told states to take immediate action to combat fraud, waste and abuse in their unemployment insurance programs, and that they could retain administrative funds if they fail to comply.
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