Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.
Notice of availability of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) program data for calendar year (CY) 2001.
UI BAM program data for CY 2001 are published as part of the UI PERFORMS Annual Report, which is available on the ETA Office of Workforce Security Internet site—
The UI PERFORMS Annual Report also includes data from the Benefits Timeliness and Quality and Tax Performance System programs. UI PERFORMS is the Department of Labor's management system for promoting continuous improvement in UI performance. UI PERFORMS performance measures are designated either Tier I, for which minimum performance criteria have been established, or Tier II, for which no minimum performance standards have
States are not required to publish their BAM program data; however, persons wanting clarification or additional information concerning a specific state's report are encouraged to contact the individuals identified in the Appendix.
Andrew Spisak, Office of Workforce Security, Division of Performance Management, 202–693–3196 (this is not a toll free number) or e-mail:
State Workforce Agencies (SWA) in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. select weekly random samples of UI benefit payments. The BAM program staff collects information about these payments by contacting claimants, employers, and third parties to determine whether the correct amounts of UI benefits were paid in accordance with state law, policy, and procedure. The results of the payment audits are recorded in automated databases in each state and in the Department of Labor's National Office in Washington, DC.
The Department of Labor publishes results from the BAM investigations annually. Five items are reported for each SWA participating in the BAM program: (1) The amount of UI benefits paid to the population of claimants; (2) the size of the BAM samples (number of completed cases); (3) the percentage of proper payments; (4) the percentage of overpayments; and (5) the percentage of underpayments in the population estimated from the BAM investigations. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals, which measure the precision of the payment accuracy estimates, are reported for each of the three percentages. CY 2001 BAM data for Colorado and Puerto Rico are not published because these SWAs did not complete a sufficient number of sample cases to produce statistically reliable estimates.
The CY 2001 UI PERFORMS Annual Report also includes background information and the data collection methodology for the BAM program. Graphs that display the distribution of overpayment rates for all states, national overpayment rates by year since CY 1988, and national cause and responsibility data for overpayments for the last nine years are also provided.
Additional BAM data are available at
Readers are strongly cautioned that it may be misleading to compare one state's BAM overpayment and underpayment rates with the rates of other states. No two states' laws, regulations, and policies specifying eligibility conditions are identical. Differences among states in these conditions influence the potential for error. States with complex or strict eligibility conditions tend to have higher overpayment rates than states with simpler provisions because there is a greater chance that these conditions will not be met.
The underpayment rates estimated from BAM paid claims samples represent underpayments only for those claimants eligible for UI benefits. Underpayments also result from UI claims that have been erroneously denied. SWA BAM units began selecting samples of denied UC claims in August 2001. Because Denied Claims Accuracy (DCA) data are available for less than half of CY 2001, they are not included in the CY 2001 UI PERFORMS Annual Report. The Department plans to publish CY 2002 accuracy rates for monetary, separation, and nonseparation denials, based on a complete year of sampling and DCA investigation.
Karen Van Dusseldorp, Department of Labor and Workforce Development QC Unit, P.O. Box 25509, Juneau, AK 99801. (907) 465–5946. e-mail:
Kristin Garrison, Department of Economic Security, 1924 E. University, Phoenix, AZ 85034. (602) 495–1861 ext. 1020. fax: (602) 253–8627. e-mail:
Fred D. Carter, Program Operations Manager, Employment Security Department, P.O. Box 2981, Little Rock, AR 72203–2981. (501) 682–2142. e-mail:
Suzanne Schroeder, Office of Constituent Affairs, Employment Development Department, P.O. Box 826880, Sacramento, CA 94280–0001. (916) 654–9029. e-mail:
Nancy Steffens, Director of Communications, Connecticut Department of Labor, 200 Folly Brook Boulevard, Wethersfield, CT 06109. (860) 263–6535. e-mail:
W. Thomas MacPherson, Director, Division of Unemployment Insurance, P.O. Box 9950, Wilmington, DE 19809–0950. (302) 761–8350. e-mail:
Roberta Bauer, Associate Director, Office of Compliance and Independent Monitoring, D.C. Department of Employment Services, 77 P Street, NE., Washington, DC 20012. (202) 671–3076. e-mail:
Sarah G. Peck, Agency for Workforce Innovation, Caldwell Building, 107 E. Madison Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399. (850) 921–3425. e-mail:
Paul D. Crawford, Chief, Quality Assurance, Georgia Department of Labor, 148 International Blvd., NE., Suite 822, Atlanta, GA 30305. (404) 656–7242. e-mail:
Linda Uesato, UI Administrator, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Unemployment Insurance Division, 830 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, HI 96813. (808) 586–9069. fax: (808) 596–9077. e-mail:
Robert Davis, Idaho Department of Labor, 317 W. Main Street, Boise, ID 83735. (208) 332–3573 ext. 3264. e-mail:
Joseph Wojcik, Manager, Quality Assurance and Compliance Review, Illinois
Sandy Jessee, BAM Supervisor, Indiana Department of Workforce Development, 10 North Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204. (317) 233–6676. e-mail:
LeLoie Dutemple, Quality Control Supervisor, Iowa Workforce Development, Unemployment Insurance Services Division, 1000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319–0209. (515) 281–8398. e-mail:
Richard Skinner, Quality Control Supervisor, Department of Human Resources, 401 SW Topeka Blvd., Topeka, KS 66603–3182. (785) 296–1967. fax: (785) 296–4789. e-mail:
Mark Butcher, Unemployment Insurance Division, Department for Employment Services, 275 East Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40621. (502) 564–5057. e-mail:
John Mikell, 706 East Vermillion, PO Box 3447, Lafayette, LA 70502–3447. (337) 262–5519. e-mail: