Labor Department looks to pilot intaking unemployment claims for states

"The Trump administration is planning to test the feasibility of the Labor Department doing unemployment claims intake instead of states, according to a late August email sent from the department to state unemployment insurance directors. Labor intends to pilot a department-hosted platform, unemployment.gov, with a few states by the end of the year. It would take initial claims and provide identity proofing and work authorization services, it said in the email, which was obtained by Nextgov/FCW."

"While the Biden administration's Labor Department also made forays into helping states with technology for the jobless aid program and assisting some states with initial claims intake, this latest pilot could potentially give the department more sensitive data about people applying for benefits. Labor is already weighing the creation of a national claims database after President Donald Trump issued a March executive order that called for the Labor secretary to access all unemployment data and related payment records in March."

"The administration has also pushed for federal agencies to access sensitive state-level information in several programs. While the White House often says that the federal government needs this data for anti-fraud work, critics have raised concerns about its potential for surveillance. In the unemployment context, those concerns center around who has access to claims data under that centralized intake and how they would use it."

Labor plans to pilot a department-hosted platform, unemployment.gov, with a few states by year-end to take initial claims and provide identity proofing and work authorization services. The pilot would shift unemployment claims intake from states to the Labor Department for participating states. The move could give the department access to more sensitive data about claimants. Labor is considering a national claims database after a March executive order directed the Labor secretary to access all unemployment data and related payment records. The administration has pushed for federal agencies to access sensitive state-level information for anti-fraud purposes, while critics worry about surveillance and who would have access. Concerns include whether other agencies, such as ICE, might access the data.

Read at Nextgov.com