Unemployment Insurance: Program Integrity and Fraud Concerns Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic Response [April 27, 2022]   [open pdf - 1MB]

From the Document: "The federal-state Unemployment Insurance (UI) system has faced long-standing program integrity challenges. The enhanced and expanded UI benefits created in response to the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic exacerbated some of these challenges and introduced new considerations related to improper payments and fraud. This report defines key concepts related to UI program integrity, including fraud; addresses what is known about the scope of COVID-19 UI program integrity and fraud at this time; summarizes challenges related to UI program integrity, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic; and synthesizes existing policy proposals and introduced legislation to address UI program integrity generally and fraud specifically."