Unemployment Insurance Division
The mission of the Unemployment Insurance Division is to provide short term economic relief to eligible workers from a fund financed by employers.
- Division Goals for State Fiscal Year 2007
- Claims Processing Bureau
- Contributions Bureau
- Program Support Bureau
Goals and Objectives
- Goal #1: Meet or exceed federal
performance standard for first payment promptness.
- 87% of 1st payments will be issued within 21 days after the compensable week begins.
- Goal #2: Meet or exceed Government
Performance Results Act.
- 90.3% of all intrastate first payments for full weeks will be issued within 21 days.
- Goal #3: Meet or exceed federal
performance standard for non-monetary determinations.
- 80% of separation and non-separation determinations will be issued within 21 days of the detection date.
- Goal #4: Meet or exceed federal
performance standards for non-monetary determination quality.
- 75% of separation and non-separation determinations must achieve a quality score of greater than 80 points.
- Goal #5: Maintain a quality
workplace by investing in staff to increase job capability and include
staff in continual program improvement.
- Completion of online adjudication training by 30 Bureau staff through National Judicial College by end of calendar year 2008.
- Qualified staff will develop a comprehensive fact-finding class for the Division by September 30, 2008.
- Goal #6: Improve training
techniques and skills of in-house trainers.
- Completion of coursework that will offer training expertise and opportunity by end of calendar year 2008.
- Goal #7: Continue to improve
and enhance Internet applications and technology to improve efficiency
and customer service.
- Increase claimant usage of direct deposit by 10%.
- Explore possible use of secure internet site for fact finding with claimants and employers.
- Goal #8: Provide timely and
critical information to communities and businesses experiencing large
layoffs/business closures.
- Provide information to employers and claimants through Rapid Response presentations as requested by Workforce Services.
- Participate in ABC Clinics to provide program information to the employer community.
- Goal #9: Provide high levels
of customer service to all customers of the Bureau.
- Receive positive feedback from claimants and employers in excess of 80% on customer satisfaction surveys.
- Goal #1: Exceed federal tax performance standards (TPS) for quality, timeliness, and completeness for unemployment insurance tax functions:
- establishing employer accounts;
- depositing and posting payments;
- processing quarterly reports and collecting those that are delinquent;
- billing/collection on past due amounts;
- establishing credits/refunds on overpayments;
- conducting employer payroll audits; and
- assigning contribution rates
- No more than 3 tax functions may fail a TPS review during the year.
- No single tax function may fail the TPS review more than 3 consecutive years.
- 83% of new employer accounts will be established within 90 days of meeting UI coverage requirements.
- 95% of employer quarterly wage reports are secured within 90 days of date due.
- 95% of UI tax receipts received are deposited within 3 days of receipt.
- 2% of contributory employers are audited each year.
- Accounts receivable, as a percent of total tax due, is less than 2% (average).
- All contribution rates are assigned properly based on an annual sampling and verification of computer generated rate notices.
- Implement procedures and take steps to identify employers who engage in SUTA dumping (to avoid paying the proper amount of UI contributions), and bring them into compliance with UI law.
- Implement internet employer registration by 12/31/2007.
- Market and increase usage of internet wage reporting system by 10% each year for the next 2 years.
- Provide up-to-date forms and information on the UI web site.
- Provide additional employer account look-up, update and/or payment features by 12/31/2008.
- Receive positive feedback from employers or employer representatives in excess of 80% on customer satisfaction surveys.
-
Goal #1: Create, enhance, and utilize innovative technology to improve efficiency and customer service within the Division.
- Assist in the completion of Phase I of the Employer Internet Registration project by December 31, 2007. Participate in the development and implementation of Phase II of the Employer Internet Registration project, scheduled for completion by September 30, 2008.
- Create a function that will allow claimants and employers to file on-line claim disputes.
- Decrease postage and staff processing costs by:
- offering claimants and employers enhanced Internet and other electronic functions relevant to benefit claim communications;
- offering electronic options for informational brochures, pamphlets, and booklets; and
- identifying and implementing methods to combine and automate printing, sorting and mailing processes. - Enhance UI4U, the web-based claim filing service, to gather additional information or details, as necessary, depending upon the answer provided by the individual using the service (if, then statements).
- Enhance extended benefit and disaster claims functions.
- Provide on-going enhancements to the Division’s web-page for more functional and pertinent service delivery to internal and external customers.
Goal #2: Audit UI benefit claims and appeals functions for accuracy, timeliness, quality, and in accordance with federal standards.
- Conduct weekly audits on unemployment insurance claims that have been paid or denied to ensure accuracy in the claims processing. A minimum of 360 audits of paid claims and a minimum of 450 audits of denied claims will be completed in calendar year 2008.
- Conduct at least 93% of audits within 60-days of assignment.
- Conduct quarterly and bi-annual claims and appeals reviews in accordance with federal performance standards.
Goal #3: Ensure detection and collection of benefit overpayments.
- Conduct a minimum of 1,000 quarterly wage audits to compare wages reported by employers to wages reported by claimants to detect potential benefit overpayments during CY 2008.
- Meet or exceed federal overpayment detection standard of 60.5% of the estimated detectable and recoverable overpayments during CY 2008.
- Increase benefit overpayment collections by 3% in SFY2008.
- Reduce established benefit overpayments by at least 3% in SFY2008.
- Perform a weekly cross-match with National Directory of New Hires to detect people who are both working and drawing benefits.
- Implement a state cross-match between state employees and UI benefit recipients.
- Implement a cross-match between Montana university employees and UI benefit recipients.
- Provide an electronic payment option for benefit overpayment recovery.
- Implement wage garnishment as a means to recover benefit overpayments by December 31, 2008.
Goal #4: Ensure continuity of business operations during disasters, power-outages, weather, or other business disruptions.
- Enhance the Division disaster plan and business continuity plan and participate in a rehearsal of the plan.
Goal #5: Protect the confidentiality of claimant and employer data obtained and utilized by the Unemployment Insurance Division.
- Map and identify all internal and external access to UI systems, identify access roles, verify that access roles are correct for each user, and correct access as required.
- Remove SSN display on all claimant correspondence and public records.
- Conduct at least two division-wide information security and PC security training seminars each state fiscal year.
- Develop imaging process enhancements to protect both identity information and confidential data collected during the unemployment insurance claims process.
Goal #6: Enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and security of digital document conversion (imaging), indexing, storage, and retrieval.
- Remain on the cutting edge of digital document imaging by aggressively pursuing data regarding technological advances and seeking methods for incorporation into the UI document conversion process.
- Coordinate with program IT staff in the development of program enhancements to ensure document security during conversion, indexing, storage and retrieval.
Maintain an efficient, effective and equitable Unemployment Insurance program, funded by employers to provide short-term economic assistance to eligible workers.
Contributions Bureau Goals/Outcome measures:
Goal #2: Exceed performance standards set by the Contributions Bureau and/or the federal Government Performance Results Act (GPRA):
Goal #3: Provide stewardship of the UI Trust Fund by correctly assigning contribution rates for the proper assessment and collection of employer taxes.
Goal #4: Provide high levels of customer service by use of innovative technology and professional personal service.
Unemployment Insurance Division Accomplishments
Unemployment Insurance Division Website: http://uid.dli.mt.gov/
