Pennsylvania's unemployment program fails federal integrity standards

Rep. Brenda Pugh expressed concern about unemployment fraud in Pennsylvania. She stated that the state is not meeting important standards for preventing and detecting fraud in unemployment compensation. Pugh, who represents Dallas Township, is seeking answers from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. She noted that the federal government has established minimum requirements for how states handle unemployment over-payments. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, states should detect 50% of over-payments and recover 68%. However, Pennsylvania reported only 33.61% detection and 39.9% recovery, which falls short of these benchmarks. Pugh highlighted that these standards were evaluated in the most recent federal scorecard covering October 2023 to September 2024. States must regularly report their over-payment and recovery information to the federal government. Over-payments occur when a claimant receives benefits they are not entitled to, which can happen due to mistakes or fraud. Pugh aims to work with fellow lawmakers to find practical solutions to improve the state's performance in this area.