The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released guidance in Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 02-25 for state workforce agencies (SWAs) to apply for ongoing workload-based administrative funding for Unemployment Compensation (UC) programs originally established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This funding covers administrative activities for programs including Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC), with an application deadline 30 days post-publication of the UIPL. These grants will be essential for states to manage remaining claims processing, data retention, overpayment recovery, audit completion, and reporting requirements associated with CARES Act programs, even after their eligibility periods have ended.
Each state must submit separate Standard Form (SF)-424 applications via Grants.gov for each program requiring continued funding. Applications should use estimated funding amounts derived from workload reports specific to each program. For example, PUA workload funding estimates are based on data from the ETA 902P report, while PEUC funding uses data from the ETA UI-3 report. Additional guidance for SF-424 completion is provided in Attachment I of the UIPL, which specifies data entry points, including inputting specific UIPL numbers and grant titles, as well as maintaining current SAM.gov registration to prevent submission rejection.
The DOL will apply a 5.7 percent sequestration reduction to all awarded funding, in line with budgetary requirements. Additionally, biannual administrative earnings will be assessed for each program, with awards issued at the end of the second and fourth quarters of the fiscal year. However, funding will only be disbursed once states' cumulative administrative earnings surpass a $500 threshold.
In addition to the initial SF-424 form submission, grant recipients must comply with DOL reporting requirements. This includes submitting a Quarterly Financial Report (ETA 9130) covering quarterly financial activity, with the first report due in the quarter immediately following the award. No Quarterly Progress Report (ETA 9178) is required for these grants. However, all activities and expenditures must be tracked by each program, and SWAs should ensure appropriate cost allocation to maintain program-specific funding compliance.
This guidance also mandates cooperation with the DOL Office of Inspector General (OIG) for program audits, particularly for issues related to fraud, waste, and abuse within UC programs. The UIPL references previous legislation and advisory letters that may be useful for states in understanding the broader scope of reporting and auditing requirements under the CARES Act and subsequent amendments.
