SHIELD – Final Reminder – Upcoming Security Update 9/8/2022
Tomorrow an update will be made during the normal maintenance window to the SHIELD platform. This proactive update will deploy new measures to improve the security and resiliency of the underlying infrastructure of the SHIELD platform by implementing stronger protections against distributed denial of service attacks. There should be no service downtime since we are utilizing our normal maintenance window. We recommend that you verify with your IT department that the entire site domain, tnc.app, is whitelisted to prevent access issues if your organization has strict web filtering rules in place.
Please contact our portal team should you have any questions or concerns.
Annual Benefit Charge Statements Issued – California and Kansas
Most states issue their statements of benefit charges on a monthly or quarterly basis but in a few states, the notice of benefit charges is only issued one time for a fiscal year. These annual benefit charge statements have been issued for the fiscal year 7/1/2021 through 6/30/2022 in California and Kansas and are currently being processed and reviewed for any potential errors. This review is vital to controlling your unemployment costs as the error rate in these states is close to 25% (CA 24.899% and KS 22.167% for the twelve months ending 3/31/22). Any potentially inaccurate charges that have been assessed against your account will be protested by our team for credit to your account.
US DOL – $225 Million Offered to States to Support Fraud Detection & Overpayment Recovery
The US Department of Labor has provided an additional $225 Million to state workforce agencies to “support accurate reporting, as well as detection and recovery of overpayments”. States can use these funds to pay expenses, hire staff, and implement tools and strategies to detect, establish and recover overpayments. States must apply for the additional funds by close of business on September 23, 2022. Employers should be prepared as this additional funding could lead to an increase in the number of audits that are received as the states work through the backlog of potential overpayment cases.
ALABAMA – Overpayment Collection Efforts Slowed
Claimants who received repayment demand letters from Alabama for possible overpayments during the pandemic will not be contacted for collection efforts if the unemployment claim has not yet made it through the entire administrative process, which includes the right to file an appeal. Alabama is reportedly behind on the appeal process and are working through their backlogs. If the overpayment was due to an agency or employer error, these claimants may be eligible to apply for a waiver.
