Department of Labor
Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG) found the Employment and Training Administration - Federal-State Unemployment Insurance (UI) and the Office of Workers' Compensation (OWCP) - Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) program "noncompliant" with certain PIIA criteria for FY24 reporting. UI was non-compliant primarily due to estimating IP >10%. FECA was determined non-compliant due to an oversight that led to the FY25 target rate not being reported on PaymentAccuracy.gov. DOL’s response to DOL-OIG's findings are detailed in Management's Response to OIG's draft PIIA Compliance Report.
In FY25 DOL continued to find two programs to be "susceptible to significant improper payments (IP)". These are 1) the Federal-State UI program, and 2) the FECA program.
DOL conducts a program inventory annually and conducts risk assessments of all identified programs on a minimum triennial basis as required by OMB Circular A-123 Appendix C (M-21-19). DOL did not determine any additional programs to be "susceptible to significant IP" in FY25.
DOL bases the UI improper payment (IP) estimates on results of the Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) survey, which examines a nationwide statistically valid sample of payments made in the three largest permanently authorized unemployment compensation programs: State UI program, Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-service members (UCX). The BAM sample does not include payments made under episodic programs such as Extended Benefits (EB) and temporary programs like the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program and the UI-related programs created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020, including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and Mixed-Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) programs. As a result, the $37,679.47M in reported outlays for 2025 include $37,393.95M in outlays from the regular Federal-State UI program and $285.52M in outlays from the UCFE and UCX programs. The period of benefits coverage for all pandemic-related UI programs, including PUA, PEUC, FPUC, and MEUC, expired in law on September 6, 2021, though about half of the states opted to end administration of some or all pandemic-related UI programs in summer 2021. During the reporting period, some states continued to work backlogs, adjudicate and pay benefits where appropriate for weeks occurring prior to the program end dates, resolve appeals, and determine and collect overpaid benefits under these temporary programs. Several pandemic-related UI programs report negative outlays due to states’ ongoing overpayment recovery efforts. As discussed in prior year reporting, since the total outlays for PEUC and PUA were less than $10M, no data is reported for these programs for publication on PaymentAccuracy.gov. Negative outlays were not used to artificially reduce normal UI program reported outlays nor impact IP estimates.
The PUA program was determined "susceptible" in FY21. DOL submitted a Sampling and Estimation Methodology Plan (S&EMP) for estimating the PUA program’s improper payment rate and amount to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on June 30, 2022. FY23 Payment Integrity reporting for PUA covered the full life of the weeks of eligibility of the program from its beginning through its expiration in law on September 6, 2021 (though many states terminated the program earlier). Because the program is expired in law and no longer active, no further payment integrity action is possible, nor is it possible to provide an updated improper payment rate under the S&EMP. Consistent with the prior year reporting, DOL determined that no further annual payment integrity reporting is possible. However, in its PIIA compliance report, DOL-OIG recommended continued reporting on PUA. If DOL were to do so, it would result in reporting consisting almost entirely of “NA” responses since the program has expired. To address DOL-OIG’s concern and to be transparent in sharing information, DOL notes that the FY25 PUA outlays were negative $237.25 million. DOL could only apply the previously estimated 18.53% IP rate, which was developed for the life of the PUA program, to any PUA outlays – however this is not applicable to negative outlays.
Agency level Payment Integrity results
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Payment accuracy rate
(Based on federal funding spent by programs determined by agencies as susceptible to improper payments)
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Improper payments rate
(Based on federal funding spent by programs determined by agencies as susceptible to improper payments)
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Unknown payments rate
(Based on federal funding spent by programs determined by agencies as susceptible to improper payments)
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Department of Labor improper payment estimates over time
View as:
Chart toggle amounts:Proper paymentsOverpaymentUnderpaymentTechnically improperUnknown
Recovery information
Please note: Overpayment amounts recovered are reported in the year they were recovered, not the year they were identified. Therefore it is possible in some years to have a recovery rate greater than 100%.
| Overpayment amount identified through recovery audits | $1,841.39 M |
| Overpayment amount recovered through recovery audits | $762.36 M |
| Recovery audit recovery rate | 41.4 % |
Conditions giving rise to improper payments identified in recovery audits, how those conditions are being resolved, and the methods used to recover those payments
With oversight from ETA, each state UI agency is responsible for promoting and maintaining UI program integrity through prevention, detection, investigation, establishment, and recovery of improper payments. States identify and establish overpayments for recovery using methods such as crossmatching and data analytics.
Federal law requires that states use certain recovery methods to collect benefit overpayments, including
• Benefit Offsets, Cross Program Offsets, and Interstate Reciprocal Offsets (Social Security Act, Section 303(g), or 42 USC 503(g)); and
• Interception of Federal tax refunds under the Treasury Offset Program (TOP) (Social Security Act, Section 303(m), or 42 USC 503(m)).
State UI laws may provide for additional overpayment recovery actions, such as voluntary payment plans, wage garnishments, interception of state tax refunds, etc. ETA requires states to report on overpayment detection and recovery activities quarterly, including information on actual amounts of UI overpayments established and recovered.
Overpayment recovery is critical to protect both state UI trust funds and Federal funds. ETA has reminded states that overpayment recovery must be given the same priority as fraud prevention and detection activities. ETA also strongly recommends states use additional overpayment recovery activities, where allowed by state law, as part of an effective overpayment recovery operation.
Why recovery audits are not cost effective in certain programs
Prior to FY13, OCFO contracted with a recovery audit contractor - however that activity was determined not cost effective. This determination was reconfirmed in FY25 for all DOL programs identified for payment integrity reporting purposes, excepting the Employment & Training Administration – Federal-State Unemployment Insurance program which provides specific reporting in this DataCall and related CARES Act benefit programs (PUA, FPUC, & PEUC) now expired in law.
| Recovery audit amount identified this reporting period that remains outstanding | $1,734.91 M | ||||
| Recovery audit amount rate outstanding | 94.22 % | ||||
| Recovery audit amount this reporting period that remains outstanding for 0-6 months | $791.92 M | ||||
| Recovery audit amount identified this reporting period that remains outstanding for 6 months to 1 year | $942.99 M | ||||
| Recovery audit amount identified in this reporting period determined not collectible during this reporting period | $1,927.71 M | ||||
| Recovery audit rate identified in this reporting period determined not collectible during this reporting period | 104.69 % | ||||
Justification for the Determination that the recovery audit amount is not collectable
State UI programs may determine an overpayment to be uncollectable. Generally, this means that all reasonable collection efforts have been exhausted and the overpayment has been officially written off and/or authorized for removal from the active accounts receivable file and transferred to suspense (no further action to be taken). In cases involving UI identity fraud, when the perpetrator of fraud is unknown, a state may also identify the overpayment as “uncollectible”, as recovery efforts could not be initiated until the perpetrator of fraud is identified. If the perpetrator of fraud is not identified and the state’s law authorizes overpayments to be written off, the state is permitted to write-off the overpayment in accordance with their state law. Usually, write-offs are applied after the statute of limitations expires, bankruptcy has been approved by a court, or the party responsible for the overpayment has died. Even though an overpayment amount may be deemed not collectable, states are still expected to collaborate with local, state, and Federal law enforcement to pursue criminal prosecution where appropriate.
Intentional monetary loss improper payments are more commonly referred to as financial fraud and are overpayments that occur on purpose. This agency reported $1,094.65M of confirmed fraud in this reporting cycle.
Supplemental Information
DOL programs conduct pre-payment reviews against databases on the Do Not Pay (DNP) List, as appropriate. Programs with a business need use the DNP Working Solution when determined cost-effective to review against appropriate databases. The dollar effect of these reviews in overall IP prevention is impossible to quantify.
Additionally, the UI Integrity Center partnered with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service to provide states with access to the DNP data sources and services through the UI Integrity Data Hub (IDH). State UI agencies have reported an increase in matches and improvements in cross-matches quality since the DNP data sources became accessible through the IDH. States indicate that the new DNP data sources provide more coverage of key datasets and offer improved accuracy to support states with identifying potential fraud and improper payments.
The FECA program conducts data analytics and cross-referencing with the DNP Business Center to mitigate the risk of inappropriate inter-Agency dual benefits.
DOL programs with matches in the DNP Portal are directly responsible for reviewing and adjudicating matches. They are not required to report IP prevented to DNP nor DOL-OCFO. Relatedly, states conduct matches of UI benefit payments they process through their access to the DNP Portal and implement adjudication of those matches.
The Working System has reduced/prevented improper payments:
The Working System strives to maintain accurate data. However, the past year, DOL has identified incorrect information in the Working System Quarterly.
DOL was found non-compliant during the most recent PIIA compliance review.
Non-compliant programs:
- Employment & Training Administration - Federal State Unemployment Insurance
- Office of Workers' Compensation - Federal Employees' Compensation Act
Show full list of compliant programs 
Compliant programs:
- Bureau of Labor Statistics - Compensation and Working Conditions
- Bureau of Labor Statistics - Executive Direction and Staff Services
- Bureau of Labor Statistics - Headquarters Relocation
- Bureau of Labor Statistics - Labor Force Statistics
- Bureau of Labor Statistics - Prices and Cost of Living
- Bureau of Labor Statistics - Productivity and Technology
- Department of Labor - Departmental Management
- Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General
- Employee Benefits Security Administration
- Employment & Training Administration - Adult Employment and Training Activities
- Employment & Training Administration - Apprenticeship
- Employment & Training Administration - Community Projects
- Employment & Training Administration - Community Service Employment for Older Americans
- Employment & Training Administration - Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities - Formula
- Employment & Training Administration - Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities - National Reserves Demos
- Employment & Training Administration - Employment Service
- Employment & Training Administration - H-1B Job Training Grants
- Employment & Training Administration - Indian and Native American Program
- Employment & Training Administration - Job Corps
- Employment & Training Administration - Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker
- Employment & Training Administration - Permanent Labor Certification for Foreign Workers
- Employment & Training Administration - Reintegration of Ex-Offenders
- Employment & Training Administration - Temporary Labor Certification for Foreign Workers
- Employment & Training Administration - Trade Adjustment Assistance Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances
- Employment & Training Administration - WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth Outlying Areas Consolidated Grants
- Employment & Training Administration - WIOA Dislocated Worker National Reserve Technical Assistance and Training
- Employment & Training Administration - WIOA National Dislocated Worker Grants / WIA National Emergency Grants
- Employment & Training Administration - Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program (WOTC)
- Employment & Training Administration - Workforce Data Quality Initiative
- Employment & Training Administration - Workforce Information Etools
- Employment & Training Administration - Youth Activities
- Employment & Training Administration - YouthBuild
- International Labor Affairs Bureau
- Mine Health and Safety and Safety Counseling and Technical Assistance
- Mine Safety and Health Administration
- Mine Safety and Health Administration - Brookwood-Sago Grant
- Mine Safety and Health Administration - Mine Health and Safety Project Grants
- Mine Safety and Health Administration - Safety and Health Cooperative Grants
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Consultation Agreements
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration - State Programs
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Susan Harwood Training Grants
- Occupational Safety and Health Program
- Office of Disability Employment Policy
- Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
- Office of Labor-Management Standards
- Office of Workers' Compensation - Coal Mine Workers' Compensation
- Office of Workers' Compensation - Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
- Office of Workers' Compensation - Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation
- Veterans Employment Training Service - Federal Administration & Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) Enforcement
- Veterans Employment Training Service - Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program
- Veterans Employment Training Service - Jobs for Veterans State Grants
- Veterans Employment Training Service - Transition Assistance Program Employment Workshop
- Wage and Hour Division
- Women's Bureau
- Women’s Bureau - Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Technical Assistance
Actions recommended and planned to achieve compliance
FY24 Recommendations and Status:
Recommendation 1: “Update review procedures to ensure accurate responses to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) payment integrity data call prompts, compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019, and that information is complete, accurate, and consistent before the final submission of the OMB payment integrity data call; and further refine reviews of published information on PaymentAccuracy.gov.”
Recommendation 1 Status: DOL has implemented enhanced review and reporting procedures to avoid this and related typographical errors. OMB has vastly simplified the reporting process. FECA ensured missing reporting included in FY25 reporting to OMB and the AFR.
Recommendation 2: “Maintain the Employment and Training Administration’s current focus on increasing technical assistance and funding to states to improve improper payment reduction strategies to reduce the improper payments estimate rate below the 10 percent threshold.”
Recommendation 2 Status: The UI program is a Federal-state partnership and the significant majority of UI payments are made by states, under state law, using state funds. DOL continued efforts to implement its aggressive and ever-evolving UI Program Integrity Strategic Plan, which contains the Department’s antifraud and improper payment reduction strategies, targeting the leading root causes of improper payments.
Recommendation 3: “Update the Employment and Training Administration’s policies and procedures over the reporting of Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance information to include outlays after the expiration of the programs, until such time as the outlays are no longer greater than the statutory threshold.”
Recommendation 3 Status: DOL disagreed with this Recommendation. These programs expired in law on September 6, 2021 – though many states discontinued them even before this date. Remaining latent outlays are merely a final accounting of benefits due prior to the 2021 expiration date and recoveries now typically exceed outlays. However, we appreciate the auditor’s intent and will continue to be transparent in reporting.
Official(s) accountable for the progress of the agency coming into compliance
Michelle Beebe,
Administrator, Office of Unemployment Insurance
Accountability mechanism tied to the success of the official designated in leading the efforts to come Into compliance
Specific to the Federal-State UI program, the OUI Administrator’s Senior Executive Services (SES) Performance Management Plan includes a Performance Requirement focused on Unemployment Compensation Program Integrity to combat fraud and improper payments. The rating of such performance is overseen by senior leadership at DOL and subject to review by the SES Performance Review Board.
| Program name | When was the last improper payment risk assessment conducted? | Likely to be susceptible to significant improper payments? | Substantial changes made to the assessment methodology used for the reporting cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Labor Statistics - Compensation and Working Conditions | 2025 |
 No
|
|
| Bureau of Labor Statistics - Executive Direction and Staff Services | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Bureau of Labor Statistics - Headquarters Relocation | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Bureau of Labor Statistics - Labor Force Statistics | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Bureau of Labor Statistics - Prices and Cost of Living | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Bureau of Labor Statistics - Productivity and Technology | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Department of Labor - Departmental Management | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Department of Labor - Office of Inspector General | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employee Benefits Security Administration | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Adult Employment and Training Activities | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Apprenticeship | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Community Projects | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Community Service Employment for Older Americans | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities - Formula | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities - National Reserves Demos | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Employment Service | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Federal State Unemployment Insurance | 2025 |
 Yes
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - H-1B Job Training Grants | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Indian and Native American Program | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Job Corps | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Permanent Labor Certification for Foreign Workers | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Reintegration of Ex-Offenders | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Temporary Labor Certification for Foreign Workers | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Trade Adjustment Assistance Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth Outlying Areas Consolidated Grants | * | ||
| Employment & Training Administration - WIOA Dislocated Worker National Reserve Technical Assistance and Training | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - WIOA National Dislocated Worker Grants / WIA National Emergency Grants | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program (WOTC) | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Workforce Data Quality Initiative | 2019 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Workforce Information Etools | 2020 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - Youth Activities | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Employment & Training Administration - YouthBuild | 2024 |
No
|
|
| International Labor Affairs Bureau | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Mine Health and Safety and Safety Counseling and Technical Assistance | 2022 |
No
|
|
| Mine Safety and Health Administration | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Mine Safety and Health Administration - Brookwood-Sago Grant | 2022 |
No
|
|
| Mine Safety and Health Administration - Mine Health and Safety Project Grants | 2022 |
No
|
|
| Mine Safety and Health Administration - Safety and Health Cooperative Grants | 2022 |
No
|
|
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Consultation Agreements | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration - State Programs | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration - Susan Harwood Training Grants | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Occupational Safety and Health Program | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Office of Disability Employment Policy | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Office of Labor-Management Standards | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Office of Workers' Compensation - Coal Mine Workers' Compensation | 2022 |
No
|
|
| Office of Workers' Compensation - Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Office of Workers' Compensation - Federal Employees' Compensation Act | 2025 |
Yes
|
|
| Office of Workers' Compensation - Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation | 2022 |
No
|
|
| Veterans Employment Training Service - Federal Administration & Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) Enforcement | 2025 |
No
|
|
| Veterans Employment Training Service - Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Program | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Veterans Employment Training Service - Jobs for Veterans State Grants | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Veterans Employment Training Service - Transition Assistance Program Employment Workshop | 2024 |
No
|
|
| Wage and Hour Division | 2023 |
No
|
|
| Women’s Bureau - Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Technical Assistance | * | ||
| Women's Bureau | 2025 |
No
|
* Assessment year is not displayed because one or more of the following statements is true:
- Not required to conduct a risk assessment under the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019,
- Already assessed for improper payment risk under a different name in a prior reporting period, and/or
- New and planning to perform a risk assessment in the future.
Agency Level "Confirmed Fraud" data is based on combined data from DOL OIG, and from the UI & FECA programs. DOL-wide data is provided by the DOL OIG based on the fiscal year for adjudicated fraud perpetrated against DOL – not including fraud related to the FECA & UI programs. FECA & UI confirmed fraud are provided per their programs' payment integrity processes and added to the OIG reporting.
Per OMB guidance, Federal Agencies were required to identify all programs which have an Assistance Listing number as listed on SAM.gov as a “program” for the purposes of this PIIA reporting. Many previously identified “programs” had to be split into “new” programs. This vastly increased the number of “programs” identified in this reporting. However, previously identified programs that did not have an Assistance Listing continue to be identified for PIIA purposes, as appropriate.