20 C.F.R. PART 603—INCOME AND ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYSTEM


Title 20 - Employees' Benefits


Title 20: Employees' Benefits

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PART 603—INCOME AND ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION SYSTEM

Section Contents
§ 603.1   Purpose.

Subpart A—Income and Eligibility Verification System

§ 603.2   Definitions.
§ 603.3   Eligibility condition for claimants.
§ 603.4   Notification to claimants.
§ 603.5   Disclosure of information.
§ 603.6   Agreement between State unemployment compensation agency and requesting agency.
§ 603.7   Protection of confidentiality.
§ 603.8   Obtaining information from other agencies and crossmatching with wage information.

Subpart B—Quarterly Wage Reporting

§ 603.21   Alternative system.


Authority:  Sec. 1102, Social Security Act, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 647, as amended (42 U.S.C 1302); Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1949, 63 Stat. 1065, 14 FR 5225.

Source:  51 FR 7207, Feb. 28, 1986, unless otherwise noted.

§ 603.1   Purpose.
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(a) Section 2651 of Public Law 98–369 (the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984) amended title XI of the Social Security Act to include a requirement that States have an income and eligibility verification system in effect which would be used in verifying eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits available under several Federally assisted programs including the Federal-State unemployment compensation program. The Act requires that employers in each State make quarterly wage reports to a State agency, which may be the State unemployment compensation agency, and that wage information and benefit information obtained from other agencies be used in verifying eligibility for benefits. The requirement of quarterly wage reporting may be waived if the Secretary of Labor (in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture) determines the State has in effect an alternative system which is as effective and timely as quarterly wage reporting for the purposes of providing employment related income and eligibility data.

(b) Section 2651(d) of Public Law 98–396 added a new section 303(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(f)), to provide that the agency charged with the administration of the State unemployment compensation law shall provide that information shall be requested and exchanged for purposes of income and eligibility verification in accordance with a State system which meets the requirements of section 1137 of the Social Security Act, as added by Public Law 98–369. The regulations in this part are issued to implement this requirement.

Subpart A—Income and Eligibility Verification System
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§ 603.2   Definitions.
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For the purposes of this part:

(a) State unemployment compensation agency means the agency charged with the administration of the unemployment compensation law approved by the Secretary of Labor under section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 3304).

(b) Wage information means information about wages as defined in the State's unemployment compensation law and includes the Social Security Number (or numbers, if more than one) and quarterly wages of an employee, and the name, address, State, and (when known) Federal employer identification number of an employer reporting wages under a State unemployment compensation law, except that in a State in which wages are not required to be reported under the unemployment compensation law, “wage information” means:

(1) That wage information which is reported under provisions of State law which fulfill the requirements of section 1137 of the Social Security Act; or

(2) That information which is obtained through an alternative system which fulfills the requirements of section 1137 of the Social Security Act.

(c) Claim information means information regarding:

(1) Whether an individual is receiving, has received or has applied for unemployment compensation;

(2) The amount of compensation the individual is receiving or is entitled to receive;

(3) The individual's current (or most recent) home address; and

(4) Whether the individual has refused an offer of work and, if so, a description of the job offered including the terms, conditions, and rate of pay.

(5) Any other information contained in the records of the State unemployment compensation agency which is needed by the requesting agency to verify eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits.

(d) Requesting agency means:

(1) Any State or local agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under a State plan approved under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act;

(2) Any State or local agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of the Medicaid program under a State plan approved under title XIX of the Social Security Act;

(3) Any State or local agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of the Food Stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977;

(4) Any State or local agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing a program under a plan approved under title I, X, XIV, or XVI of the Social Security Act;

(5) Any State or local child support enforcement agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing child support obligations under a plan approved under part D of title IV of the Social Security Act; and

(6) The Secretary of Health and Human Services in establishing or verifying eligibility or benefit amounts under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (section 1137(a)).

[51 FR 7207, Feb. 28, 1986, as amended at 71 FR 35513, June 21, 2006]

§ 603.3   Eligibility condition for claimants.
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(a) The State unemployment compensation agency shall require, as a condition of eligibility for unemployment benefits, that each claimant for benefits furnish to the agency his/her social security number (or numbers if he/she has more than one such number), and the agency shall utilize such numbers in the administration of the unemployment compensation program so as to associate the agency's records pertaining to each claimant with the claimant's social security number(s).

(b) If the State agency determines that a claimant has refused or failed to provide a Social Security Number, then that individual shall be ineligible to participate in the unemployment compensation program.

(c) Any claimant held ineligible for not supplying a social security number may become eligible upon providing the State agency with such number retroactive to the extent permitted under State law. (Section 1137(a)(1)).

§ 603.4   Notification to claimants.
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Claimants shall be notified at the time of filing an initial claim for benefits through a written statement on or provided with the initial claim form and periodically thereafter that information available through the income and eligibility verification system will be requested and utilized by requesting agencies as defined in §603.2(d) (section 1137(a)(6)). Provisions of a printed notice on or attached to any subsequent additional claims will satisfy the requirement for periodic notice thereafter.

§ 603.5   Disclosure of information.
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The State unemployment compensation agency will disclose to authorized requesting agencies, as defined in §603.2(d), which have entered into an agreement in accordance with this part, wage and claim information as defined herein contained in the records of such State agency as is deemed by the requesting agency to be needed in verifying eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits. Standardized formats established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture) will be adhered to by the State unemployment compensation agency. (Section 1137(a)(4)).

§ 603.6   Agreement between State unemployment compensation agency and requesting agency.
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(a) The State unemployment compensation agency will enter into specific written agreements with any requesting agency as defined in this part.

(b) The agreements will include, but need not be limited, to the following:

(1) The purposes for which requests will be made and the specific information needed;

(2) Identification of all agency officials, by position, with authority to request information;

(3) Methods and timing of the requests for information, including the format to be used, and the period of time needed to furnish the requested information;

(4) Basis for establishing the reporting periods for which information will be provided;

(5) Provisions for determining appropriate reimbursement from the requesting agency for the costs incurred in providing data, including any new developmental costs associated with furnishing data to the requesting agency and calculated in accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular A–87;

(6) Safeguards to ensure that information obtained from the State unemployment compensation agency will be protected against unauthorized access or disclosure. At a minimum, such procedures will comply with the requirements of §603.7.

(c) The requirements in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section shall also apply to requesting agencies receiving information from a State unemployment compensation agency in another State and shall be administered by the State unemployment compensation agency disclosing the information (section 1137(a)(4) and (a)(7)).

§ 603.7   Protection of confidentiality.
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(a) State unemployment compensation agencies shall require requesting agencies receiving information under this part to comply with the following measures to protect the confidentiality of the information against unauthorized access or disclosure:

(1) The information shall be used only to the extent necessary to assist in the valid administrative needs of the program receiving such information and shall be disclosed only for these purposes as defined in this agreement;

(2) The requesting agency shall not use the information for any purposes not specifically authorized under an agreement that meets the requirements of §603.6;

(3) The information shall be stored in a place physically secure from access by unauthorized persons;

(4) Information in electronic format, such as magnetic tapes or discs, shall be stored and processed in such a way that unauthorized persons cannot retrieve the information by means of computer, remote terminal or other means;

(5) Precautions shall be taken to ensure that only authorized personnel are given access to on-line files;

(6)(i) The requesting agency shall instruct all personnel with access to the information regarding the confidential nature of the information, the requirements of this part, and the sanctions specified in State unemployment compensation laws against unauthorized disclosure of information covered by this part, and any other relevant State statutes, and

(ii) The head of each State agency shall sign an acknowledgment on behalf of the entire agency attesting to the agency's policies and procedures regarding confidentiality.

(b) Any requesting agency is authorized to redisclose the information only as follows:

(1) Any wage or claim information may be given to the individual who is the subject of the information;

(2) Information about an individual may be given to an attorney or other duly authorized agent representing the individual if the individual has given written consent and the information is needed in connection with a claim for benefits against the requesting agency; and

(3) Any wage or claim information may be given to another requesting agency as defined in this part or to any criminal or civil prosecuting authorities acting for or on behalf of the requesting agency if provision for such redisclosure is contained in the agreement between the requesting agency and the State unemployment compensation agency.

(c) The requesting agency shall permit the State unemployment compensation agency to make onsite inspections to ensure that the requirements of State unemployment compensation laws and Federal statutes and regulations are being met (section 1137(a)(5)(B).

§ 603.8   Obtaining information from other agencies and crossmatching with wage information.
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(a) The State unemployment compensation agency shall obtain such information from the Social Security administration and any requesting agency as may be needed in verifying eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits.

(b) To the extent that such information shall be determined likely to be productive in identifying ineligibility for benefits and preventing incorrect payments, the State unemployment compensation agency shall crossmatch quarterly wage information with unemployment benefit payment information (section 1137(a)(2)).

(c) To the extent necessary, the United States Department of Labor may amplify on the requirements for state compliance with this section in instructions issued and published for comment in the Federal Register under the provisions of section 1137(a)(2) of the Social Security Act.

Subpart B—Quarterly Wage Reporting
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§ 603.21   Alternative system.
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The Secretary of Labor (in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture) may waive the provision that employers in a State are required to make quarterly wage reports to a State agency if the Secretary determines that the State has in effect an alternative system which is as effective and timely for purposes of providing employment related income and eligibility data for the purposes described in section 1137 of the Social Security Act. Criteria for such waiver and the date for submitting requests for such waiver will be issued, if necessary, by the United States Department of Labor and published for comment in the Federal Register.

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