Section 25-4-154 Penalties; Limitation of Actions; Collection of Overpayments; Waiver of Overpayments.
AI-assisted research summary: The Department of Labor must verify unemployment insurance rolls, check certain records weekly, recover improper overpayments, report annually to the Legislature, and adopt rules to carry out the section.
(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Unemployment Insurance Program Integrity Act of 2021. (b) The purpose of this section is to enhance program integrity for the state’s unemployment records against unemployment insurance rolls on a weekly basis, and check federal, state, county, and local prison and jail records. (c) As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. The Alabama Department of Labor. (2) NEW HIRE RECORDS. The directory of newly hired and re-hired employees reported under state and federal law and managed by the Department of Labor. (3) UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ROLLS. Jobless workers receiving unemployment insurance in the state. (d) The Department of Labor shall engage with and utilize the Integrity Data Hub of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies to verify the integrity of the state’s unemployment insurance rolls. (e) The Department of Labor, on a weekly basis, shall check the unemployment insurance rolls against the Alabama Department of Corrections’ list of incarcerated individuals to verify eligibility and ensure program integrity. (f) The Department of Labor shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General to proactively detect and investigate cases of unemployment fraud. (g) The Department of Labor shall adopt and implement internal administrative policies to recover improper overpayments of unemployment benefits to the fullest extent possible by state and federal law. The department, without exception, shall recover improper unemployment benefit overpayments, unless doing so would violate state or federal law. The department shall maintain records of any and all applications of overpayment recovery exceptions. (h) The Department of Labor, on a weekly basis, shall check new hire records against the National Directorate of New Hires to verify eligibility. (i) The Department of Labor may execute a memorandum of understanding with any department or agency for information required to be shared between agencies as described in this section. (j) If the Department of Labor receives information concerning an individual enrolled in unemployment compensation benefits which indicates a change in circumstances that may affect eligibility, the Department of Labor shall review the individual’s case. (k) The Department of Labor shall annually issue a report to the Legislature which includes all of the following: (1) The efficacy of unemployment fraud detection and prevention measures by the department. (2) The amount of any improper unemployment benefit payments issued and recovered, and the reasoning for and extent to which any improper unemployment benefit payments are not corrected or recovered. (l) The Department of Labor shall adopt any rules necessary for the purposes of implementing and administering this section.