ETA 9050 Section V Benefits Time Lapse and Quality

UI REPORTS HANDBOOK NO. 401

ETA 9050 First Payment Time Lapse

CONTENTS

A. Facsimile of Form V-1-2

B. Purpose V-1-4

C. Due Date and Transmittal V-1-4

D. General Reporting Instructions V-1-4

E. Definitions V-1-5

1. Payment for First Compensable Week V-1-5

2. First Payment Time Lapse V-1-7

3. Mail Date V-1-7

4. Joint Claims V-1-8

5. Partial/Part-Total Payments V-1-8

6. Total Payments V-1-8

7. State Unemployment Insurance (UI) V-1-8

8. Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) V-1-8

9. Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX) V-1-8

10. Workshare (Short-Time Compensation (STC) Program) V-1-8

F. Item by Item Instructions V-1-9

1. All Intrastate First Payments V-1-9

2. All Interstate First Payments V-1-9

3. Intrastate Partial/Part-Total First Payments Only V-1-10

4. Interstate Partial/Part-Total Payments Only V-1-10

5. Workshare First Payments V-1-11

6. Comments V-1-11

A. Facsimile of Form

ETA 9050 - TIME LAPSE OF ALL FIRST PAYMENTS EXCEPT WORKSHARE

STATE	REGION	REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING

Time Lapse (Days)	Intra-State				Inter-State
	Total	UI	UCFE	UCX	Total	UI	UCFE	UCX
Total
<=7
8-14
15-21
22-28
29-35
36-42
43-49
50-56
57-63
64-70
>70

ETA 9050 - TIME LAPSE OF PARTIAL/PART TOTAL FIRST PAYMENTS

STATE	REGION	REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING

Time Lapse (Days)	Intra-State				Inter-State
	Total	UI	UCFE	UCX	Total	UI	UCFE	UCX
Total
<=7
8-14
15-21
22-28
29-35
36-42
43-49
50-56
57-63
64-70
>70

ETA 9050 - FIRST PAYMENT TIME LAPSE (WORKSHARE)

STATE	REGION	REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING

Time Lapse (Days)	Workshare Claims
Total
0-7
8-14
15-21
22-28
29-35
36-42
43-49
50-56
57-63
64-70
>70

Comments:

O M B No.: 1205-0359      O M B Expiration Date: 03/31/2017      Estimated Average Response Time: 30 Minutes
O M B Burden Statement: These reporting instructions have been approved under the Paperwork reduction Act of 1995. Persons are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Submission is required to obtain or retain benefits under SSA 303(a)(6). Respondents have no expectation of privacy. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workforce Security, Room S-4231, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20210.

B. Purpose

The ETA 9050 report contains monthly information on first payment time lapse. This report concerns the time it takes states to pay benefits to claimants for the first compensable week of unemployment. Similar time lapse data was formerly reported in Section C of the ETA 5159 report. That data addressed first payment time lapse for total unemployment only. This report contains monthly time lapse data for all first payments, i.e., total, partial/part-total. A separate section of this report is reserved for Workshare (Short-Time Compensation) first payments only. Workshare will be reported separately and is excluded from that part of the report for "ALL" first payments.

C. Due Date and Transmittal

The report is due in the ETA National Office on the 20th of the month following the month to which the data relates. This report will be transmitted electronically.

D. General Reporting Instructions

The First Payment Time Lapse measure requires that the state computer read the universe of all first payment records. These counts are categorized by Intrastate and Interstate claims payments and, within those categories, the number that are under the state UI program, Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX). While included under the “All” category the sub-category of partial/part-total first payment time lapse will also be reported using a separate entry screen. These categories are further broken out by the number of first payments by program type and time lapse at seven day intervals.

Workshare will be reported separately and is excluded from that part of the report for "ALL" first payments.

• Includes total, partial/part-total first payments for new, additional and transitional claims.

• Includes combined wage claims first payments reported in the appropriate category determined by the nature of the base period wages.

• Includes offsets and intercepts.

• Excludes episodic claims programs such as Extended Benefits, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, and Trade Readjustment Allowances.

• Excludes retroactive payment for a compensable waiting period.

• Workshare will be reported separately and therefore is excluded from that part of the report for "ALL" first payments.

Edit checks can be found in Handbook 402, Unemployment Insurance Required Reports User’s Manual, Appendix C.

E. Definitions

Definitions, unless otherwise specified in these instructions, will follow the definitions for the ETA 5159 found elsewhere in this handbook.

1. Payment for First Compensable Week. To be a first payment recorded on this report, it must be the payment for the earliest compensable week in the benefit year. Such a payment must simultaneously conform to the definitions for a payment, a compensable week, and first compensable week. It is not automatically the first week paid; some benefit years will not have a payment for the first compensable week.

a. Payments. Benefit payments include total, partial and part-total payments, full or partial offsets to satisfy and outstanding overpayment, a child support intercept order or a food stamp over-issuance, waiting weeks waived by a governor under a state law and compensated because of a legally recognized disaster, and payments resulting from the reversal of a single or multi-claimant adjudication by a lower or higher authority appeal decision or by a court decision.

b. Compensable Week. Claimants who are monetarily eligible or who have a pending monetary determination may claim--submit for payment or waiting-week credit—a week of unemployment for which they believe they meet the state’s weekly eligibility conditions. A week with excessive earnings—enough to reduce the weekly benefit amount payment to zero—is considered a week of employment and not unemployment and thus is not a “week claimed.”

Most states require a week to be served as a waiting period week prior to receiving a first payment. Claimants are required to meet all of the eligibility criteria to receive a benefit payment but the week is not a payable week. Some states will retroactively compensate the waiting week after the claimant has received payment for a number of weeks.

c. First Compensable Week. The first compensable week is the earliest compensable week claimed in the benefit year.

1. This will normally be the first week in the claims series in non-waiting week states and the second week in the claims series in waiting week states.

2. If two or more weeks of benefits at the beginning of the claims series are paid at the same time (whether by separate checks or by one check), then the earliest week-ending date in the benefit year is the starting date for measuring the timeliness of the first payment.

3. The normal situation in (1) will not occur if the claimant is disqualified by nonmonetary denial or penalty for what would have been the waiting week or the usual first compensable week. In either of these situations, no payment for a first compensable week is reported on the 9050 report; instead, the first week paid is a continued week and reported on the 9051 report.

4. If the waiting-week denial is later reversed on appeal, it may be either paid (if the claimant had already served a waiting week) or used for waiting week credit. If it is paid, it becomes a payment for the first compensable week.

5. In summary, in waiting week states, if the first week in the series is credited as a waiting week, the second week is the first compensable week. If any other week is credited as a waiting week, the very first week in the claim series becomes the first compensable week unless the claimant had excessive earnings.

The table below provides instructions for determining which weeks would be reported as first compensable weeks (for first payment time lapse) and continued weeks (for continued weeks time lapse) under some common scenarios in waiting week and non-waiting week states.

Scenarios for Waiting Week States
#	Scenarios	Claimed Weeks
	Scenarios for reporting paid weeks time lapse. Payments for weeks reversed on appeal shown in parenthesis	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5
1	No Issue	WW	P-9050	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051
2	Week 1 denied; not appealed. No first compensable week will ever be reported.	D	WW	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051
3	Week 1 denied; reversed on appeal after claimant served waiting week in week 2. Week 1 reported as first compensable week after initial denial is reversed.	D (r-9050)	WW	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051
4	All 4 weeks denied; no weeks allowed. Claimant returned to work in week 5 before receiving any payments. Denials later reversed on appeal. Week 1 is ww; week 2 is first compensable.	D (r-WW)	D (r-9050)	D (r-9051)	D (r-9051)	NC
5	Week 1 not considered a week claimed because claimant had excess earnings. Claims series begins in week 2.	No WC; ex-earn	WW	P-9050	P-9051	P-9051

Scenarios for Non-Waiting Week States
#	Scenarios	Claimed Weeks
	Scenarios for reporting paid weeks time lapse. Payments for weeks reversed on appeal shown in parenthesis	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5
1	No issue	P-9050	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051
2	Week 1 denied; not appealed. No first compensable week will ever be reported.	D	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051
3	Week 1 denied; reversed on appeal. Week 1 reported as first compensable week after initial denial is reversed.	D (r-9050)	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051
4	All 4 weeks denied; no weeks allowed. Claimant returned to work in week 5 before receiving any payments. Denials later reversed on appeal. Week 1 is first compensable.	D (r-9050)	D (r-9051)	D (r-9051)	D (r-9051)	NC
5	Week 1 not considered a week claimed because claimant had excess earnings. Claims series begins in week 2.	No WC; ex-earn	P-9050	P-9051	P-9051	P-9051

Above Tables Legend
WW	Waiting Week
WC	Week Claimed
P	Paid Week
D	Denied Week because of Nonmonetary Issue
R	Week Reversed on Appeal
NC	Not Claimed

2. First Payment Time Lapse. A measurement of the number of days from the week ending date of the first compensable week in the benefit year to the date the payment is (a) made in person, or (b) mailed, or (c) released to the financial institution/entity responsible for depositing the benefit payment into the UI beneficiary’s account as a direct deposit or for access through a debit card, or (d) used as an offset, or (e) intercepted.

3. Mail Date. The mail date is the date the State Workforce Agency (SWA) actually mails the first payment to the claimant. SWAs determine the mail date and provide DOL with its procedure(s) to derive it.

When multiple weeks are paid at the same time, the earliest week is reported as the first payment.

4. Joint Claims. Claims involving (1) a combination of state unemployment trust funds and Federal program funds or (2) a combination of Federal program funds.

Includes claims with state UI in combination with UCFE and/or UCX employment and wages (UI/UCFE/UCX, UI/UCFE, or UI/UCX) and UCFE claims in combination with UCX employment and wages (UCFE/UCX).

Excludes claims that do not include a combination of state UI and UCFE and/or UCX employment and wages or a combination of UCFE and UCX employment and wages.

5. Partial/Part-Total Payments. Payments that are reduced from the claimant's weekly benefit amount as a result of wages, commissions, bonuses, tips or gratuities, back‑pay awards, odd jobs or self‑employment income.

6. Total Payments. Payments for weeks of total unemployment in which the claimant received a full weekly benefit check that is not reduced as a result of wages, commissions, bonuses, tips or gratuities, back‑pay awards, odd jobs or self‑employment income.

7. State Unemployment Insurance (UI). A state program that provides benefits to individuals financed (1) wholly from state trust funds (UI) or (2) partially from state trust funds and partially from UCFE and/or UCX program funds (joint UI/UCFE, UI/UCX, UI/UCFE/UCX claim).

8. Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE). A Federal program that provides benefits to individuals based on Federal civilian service.

Includes claims based (1) wholly on Federal civilian service (UCFE, no UI) or (2) partially on Federal civilian service and partially on Federal military service (UCFE/UCX) claim.

Excludes claims funded partially from state trust funds.

9. Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX). A Federal program that provides benefits to individuals based on Federal military service.

Includes claims based wholly on Federal military service (UCX only).

Excludes claims funded partially from state trust funds and/or Federal civilian service.

10. Workshare (Short-Time Compensation (STC) Program). A state program which is an alternative to employee layoffs, whereby a group of workers simply work shorter work weeks and are compensated for their lost work time with partial benefits. Such benefits are payable to these individuals as a percentage of their weekly benefit amount equivalent to the percentage of work hours reduced. Benefits would not be payable to these workers under a state's normal partial benefits formula. To participate in the Workshare or STC program employers must submit their plans to the state agency for approval.

F. Item by Item Instructions

Enter in each column and time lapse interval all first payments made during the report period for Intrastate and Interstate claims. Workshare first payments are reported separately.

1. All Intrastate First Payments. (Includes Total and Partial/Part-Total Payments)

a. Column 1, Total Intrastate First Payments. Enter under column 1 the total number of all Intrastate first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. Each total reported in this column equals the sum of columns 2, 3, and 4.

b. Column 2, UI Intrastate First Payments. Enter under column 2 the total number of all state UI Intrastate first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent state UI only and state UI in combination with UCFE and/or UCX (joint claims).

c. Column 3, UCFE Intrastate First Payments. Enter under column 3 the total number of all UCFE Intrastate first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent UCFE only and UCFE in combination with UCX (joint claims).

d. Column 4, UCX Intrastate First Payments. Enter under column 4 the total number of all UCX Intrastate first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent UCX only.

2. All Interstate First Payments. (Includes Total and Partial/Part-Total Payments)

a. Column 1, Total Interstate First Payments. Enter under column 1 the total number of all Interstate first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. Each total reported in this column equals the sum of columns 2, 3, and 4.

b. Column 2, UI Interstate First Payments. Enter under column 2 the total number of all state UI Interstate first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent state UI only and state UI in combination with UCFE and/or UCX (joint claims).

c. Column 3, UCFE Interstate First Payments. Enter under column 3 the total number of all UCFE Interstate first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent UCFE only and UCFE in combination with UCX (joint claims).

d. Column 4, UCX Interstate First Payments. Enter under column 4 the total number of all UCX Interstate first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent UCX only.

3. Intrastate Partial/Part-Total First Payments Only.

a. Column 1, Total Intrastate Partial/Part-Total First Payments. Enter under column 1 the total number of all Intrastate partial/part-total first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. Each total reported in this column equals the sum of columns 2, 3, and 4.

b. Column 2, UI Intrastate Partial/Part-Total First Payments. Enter under column 2 the total number of all state UI Intrastate partial/part-total first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent state UI only and state UI in combination with UCFE and/or UCX (joint claims).

c. Column 3, UCFE Intrastate Partial/Part-Total First Payments. Enter under column 3 the total number of all UCFE Intrastate partial/part-total first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent UCFE only and UCFE in combination with UCX (joint claims).

d. Column 4, UCX Intrastate Partial/Part-Total First Payments. Enter under column 4 the total number of all UCX Intrastate partial/part-total first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent UCX only.

4. Interstate Partial/Part-Total First Payments Only.

a. Column 1, Total Interstate Partial/Part-Total First Payments. Enter under column 1 the total number of all Interstate partial/part-total first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. Each total reported in this column equals the sum of columns 2, 3, and 4.

b. Column 2, UI Interstate Partial/Part-Total First Payments. Enter under column 2 the total number of all state UI Interstate partial/part-total first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent state UI only and state UI in combination with UCFE and/or UCX (joint claims).

c. Column 3, UCFE Interstate Partial/Part-Total First Payments. Enter under column 3 the total number of all UCFE Interstate partial/part-total first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent UCFE only and UCFE in combination with UCX (joint claims).

d. Column 4, UCX Interstate Partial/Part-Total First Payments. Enter under column 4 the total number of all UCX Interstate partial/part-total first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval. These payments represent UCX only.

5. Workshare First Payments.

a. First Payments. Enter the total number of all Workshare first payments and individual totals for each time lapse interval.

6. Comments. Explain in the comments area significant variations in time lapse in benefit payments from levels in the prior period or the same period one year ago.

a. Administrative Factors. Describe administrative factors, such as changes in operating procedures, issuance of rules and regulations, and staff turnover. These may affect data reported in such a way that they cannot be compared with data from prior reports or with current reports from other state agencies.

b. Legal Factors. Describe legal factors, such as new laws or policies. These may affect data reported in such a way that they cannot be compared with data from prior reports or on current reports from other state agencies.

c. Economic Factors. Describe economic factors which may affect data reported in such a way that conditions will be reflected in any of the tabulations. Cover such factors affecting benefit payment time lapse, e.g., mass layoffs and seasonal fluctuations in employment.

V-1-

6/2007