Employment Security gets tough on fraud - Nov. 20, 2006

06-098

: Hilary Young, 360-902-9454

Audio: http://fortress.wa.gov/esd/portal/info/newsroom/audiofiles/audio/

So far this year, the department has detected roughly $12 million in fraud and stopped about $6.7 million from being paid out to people who were trying to obtain unearned unemployment benefits. 

“Stopping fraud continues to be a top priority for us,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee. “The governor and the state legislature have given us additional resources to catch people who try to cheat the system, and we’re putting those resources to good work.”

Employment Security uses a variety of techniques to catch people who collect unemployment benefits to which they are not entitled, including cross-matching records with the Social Security Administration, the state Department of Labor & Industries and the state and national lists of new hires. The department recently began monitoring telephone numbers and mailing addresses to uncover multiple-claim schemes and also investigates tips from the public.

The most common types of fraud include not reporting earnings, continuing to collect benefits after returning to work and failing to look for work.  

“Unemployment fraud is not a victimless crime,” said Lee. “It directly affects the employers in this state, who must foot the bill when people collect benefits they don’t deserve.”

Lee said that employers can help reduce fraud by unemployment claimants by filing accurate tax and wage reports and by responding to notices from Employment Security, particularly those related to the reason a worker left the job. 

Employers are required to report all new employees to the Department of Social and Health Services within 20 days of hire. Proper reporting reduces unemployment and workers’ compensation fraud and helps the state collect child support. Employers can report new hires on the Internet at www1.dshs.wa.gov/newhire/ or by calling 800-562-0479, option 3.