Emergency Processing Memorandum, Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Activity

MEMORANDUM FOR MARGARET MALINOWSKI,

Branch Chief for Food, Health, and Labor

Office of Management and Budget, OIRA

FORM MICHEL SMYTH

Department of Labor Clearance Officer

DATE: April 9, 2012

SUBJECT: Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Activity

The Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA), under the emergency processing procedures of 5 CFR 1320.13, seeks Office Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the modifications to the state reporting requirements for compliance with the new reporting requirements found in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-96) (MCTRJC), section 2165(a)(3). The MCTRJC mandates that states immediately begin reporting additional data regarding their administration of the STC program that includes such items as the Secretary of Labor determines are appropriate. In this submittal, ETA proposes minimal but important changes, to track the flow of benefit payments and Federal reimbursements through state trust funds. Traditional clearance processes would prevent timely fulfillment of statutory obligations.

ETA also proposes a schedule of burden associated with states implementing these changes. This emergency clearance is needed in order to obtain OMB approval for ETA to develop guidance and communicate the programmatic expectations to the states that run the current programs, and to collect the necessary information from the States as required by the MCTRJC. On Thursday, February 23, 2012, the president signed into law the MCTRJC, which requires a number of substantial reporting and collection changes to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. The effective dates of these changes vary greatly, some of these changes take effect immediately, some within 30 days of enactment, and some as soon as States can comply with the requirements provided for in law.