| The Employment Security Department is expanding its use of technology to track down people who draw unemployment benefits in Washington while holding down a job in another state. The department is using a new national cross-match to quickly identify unemployment claimants who are drawing wages in other states. With the previous system, the department had to wait up to three months before receiving wage data from other states, while the new system provides the information in a few weeks. The data also are more complete, which will result in more matches.
The cross-match will help uncover two of the most common types of fraud: not reporting earnings and continuing to collect benefits after returning to work. “People continue to find new ways to defraud the system, and our goal is to be a step ahead of them,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee. “So far, our efforts are paying off in catching more fraud and in stopping it before any money goes out the door.”
In 2006, the department uncovered $16.7 million in fraud by claimants and prevented another $9.8 million from being paid out. Some of that $16.7 million was recaptured during the year, in which the department collected a record $45 million in overpaid unemployment benefits.
In addition to the national wage cross-match, the department employs a number of other tools to stop fraud, including cross-matching records with the Social Security Administration and the state departments of Labor & Industries and Social & Health Services. The department also monitors telephone numbers and mailing addresses to uncover multiple-claim schemes, and it investigates tips from the public.
Lee said that employers can help reduce fraud by unemployment claimants by filing accurate tax and wage reports and by responding to notices from Employment Security, particularly those related to the reason a worker left the job.
Employers are required to report all new employees to the Department of Social and Health Services within 20 days of hire. Proper reporting reduces unemployment and workers’ compensation fraud and helps the state collect child support. Employers can report new hires on the Internet at www1.dshs.wa.gov/newhire or by calling (800) 562-0479, option 3. | 