The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced August 8, 2022, that the state was participating in the Integrity Data Hub (IDH). The IDH is a platform of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) that “brings state workforce agencies together in collective action to compare and analyze [unemployment insurance] claims data for enhanced detection and prevention of fraud and improper payments,” according to the NASWA website.
The state said the partnership would allow expanded cross-checks for unemployment insurance claims against lists of suspicious claims from other states, lists of suspicious email domains, lists of foreign IP addresses, and other data sets that could help the state identify potentially fraudulent claims.
The DWD also said Wisconsin would have access to IDH’s centralized identity verification service, Fraud Alert System, and bank account verification system.
Unemployment insurance is a joint federal and state program that provides temporary monetary benefits to eligible laid-off workers who are actively seeking new employment. Qualifying individuals receive unemployment compensation as a percentage of their lost wages in the form of weekly cash benefits while they search for new employment.
The federal government oversees the general administration of state unemployment insurance programs. The states control the specific features of their unemployment insurance programs, such as eligibility requirements and length of benefits.
Additional reading:
- Reform proposals related to unemployment insurance
- Unemployment insurance
- Unemployment insurance fraud in Wisconsin
- History of unemployment insurance fraud in Wisconsin
