What kind of fraudulent practices are committed against the unemployment-insurance system?
A. Both claimants and employers commit fraud against the unemployment system. The most common types of claimant fraud include failing to look for work, not reporting income and continuing to collect benefits after returning to work. Until 2006, Employment Security was doing a decent job of identifying and prosecuting fraud by claimants, but had few resources to go after fraud by employers. For example, while the department collected more than $40 million in benefit overpayments in 2005, it was able to recapture only about $1 million in unpaid taxes. Thanks to additional funding by the state Legislature beginning in July 2006, the department not only increased its efforts to prevent claimant fraud, but also created a program to target employer fraud. The primary focus is on employers that do not register or pay taxes and businesses that take part in schemes to get lower tax rates than they should. Q.
A. Both claimants and employers can commit fraud against the unemployment system. The most common types of claimant fraud include failing to look for work, not reporting income and continuing to collect benefits after returning to work. Until 2006, Employment Security was doing a decent job of identifying and prosecuting fraud by claimants, but had few resources to go after fraud by employers. For example, while the department collected more than $40 million in benefit overpayments in 2005, it was able to recapture only about $1 million in unpaid taxes. Thanks to additional funding by the state Legislature beginning in July 2006, the department not only increased its efforts to prevent claimant fraud, but also created a program to target employer fraud. The primary focus is on employers that do not register or pay taxes and businesses that take part in schemes to get lower tax rates than they should.
