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Background: The Unemployment Insurance Service (UIS) recently completed its Realignment, an initiative that got underway in late 1994. We have gone from an Office structure to a Division/Team structure thus prompting the need for changes in our correspondence symbols. These six Divisions are: Division of Fiscal & Actuarial Services DFAS Division of Information Technology DIT Division of Legislation DL Division of Performance Review DPR Division of Program Development & Implementation DPDI Division of Research & Policy DRPOL Action Required: State Administrators are requested to provide the attached list of new correspondence symbols to all appropriate staff and advise them to discontinue using the old correspondence symbols effective September 3, 1996.

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References: Section 702 of Public Law (P.L.) 103-465; Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 17-95; UIPL No. 17-95, Change 1; and UIPL No. 35-95. Discussion: On December 8, 1994, the President signed P.L. 103-465, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, commonly known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which, in part, required States to deduct and withhold Federal income taxes from UI benefits upon claimants' requests, beginning January 1, 1997. Subsequent to enactment of P.L. 103-465, UIPL No. 17-95 and UIPL No. 17-95, Change 1, were issued to notify the SESAs of the requirements of GATT and to offer draft legislative language for SESAs to implement the voluntary withholding program. Additional instructions were provided in UIPL No. 35-95. The National Office (NO) coordinated implementation efforts and has been working with the national office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to provide answers to questions concerning procedures for implementation of the program. Answers provided by the IRS to procedural questions are attached. Action Required: SESA Administrators are asked to provide the information in the attachment to appropriate staff and to assure that all necessary action is taken to implement voluntary withholding of Federal income taxes effective January 1, 1997.

Background. The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) provides for Federal oversight activity in the Job Training system. In particular, Sections 163, 165, 182, and 454 address certain Federal oversight responsibilities. In addition, 20 CFR 632.125(c) states in part that, "Any person having knowledge of fraud, criminal activity or other abuse shall report such information directly and immediately to the Secretary. Similarly, all complaints involving such matters should also be reported to the Secretary directly and immediately." Policy. The Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) policy recognizes the significant responsibilities of grantees in conducting oversight of JTPA. In order to carry out responsibilities of 20 CFR 632.125(c), the ETA is issuing procedures to be used by grantees for reporting to ETA known or suspected incidents of fraud, malfeasance, misapplication of funds, gross mismanagement, or other criminal activities in ETA-funded programs. The reports submitted by grantees serve a dual purpose. They provide information on fraudulent activities which may be prosecutable, and they provide information on other types of incidents which allow ETA to identify trends and patterns occurring throughout its various programs. The procedures described in the following section are intended to supplement, but not supplant, other systems of oversight carried out by ETA grantees. Notification to ETA of Alleged Problems. In order to facilitate the reporting process, DOL has developed procedures and standardized forms for reporting incidents. Any act which raises questions concerning possible illegal expenditures or other unlawful activities should be reported immediately. It is not the intent of the Incident Report (IR) to elicit reports only after determination that an act or allegation is legally prosecutable. All such incidents shall be reported to ETA immediately even though the case may be subsequently handled by another Federal agency, or State or local law enforcement agencies. DOL Incident Report Form DL 1-156 should be used to notify ETA of all known or suspected cases of fraud, abuse, or other criminal activities in ETA-funded programs (See Attachment I, Facsimile of Form DL 1-156; Attachment II, Use and Preparation of Form DL1156; and Attachment III, Definition of Terms). The original and one copy of this form should be forwarded to the Division of Indian and Native American Programs (DINAP) within one work day of the discovery of the occurrence. DINAP will immediately forward the IR to the Office of Program and Fiscal Integrity (OPFI), through the Office of Special Targeted Programs (OSTP), for transmittal to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). Office of the Inspector General/DOL Hotline. It is anticipated that the incident reporting procedures outlined above will be utilized to report matters to DINAP. However, all ETA grantees are requested to notify their employees of the availability of the OIG/DOL Hotline for providing information confidentially. The Hotline--800-424-5409 (357-0227 FTS and Washington, D.C., local area)--was established for employees and the public to notify the OIG of suspected fraud, abuse, or waste in DOL-funded programs. The Hotline permits reporting of matters anonymously, if desired., to avoid fears of reprisal. Information supplied via the Hotline should be as specific as possible to enable the OIG to identify and solve the problem. The Hotline should not be used for resolving employee grievances, EEO complaints, labor disputes, or other personnel concerns. Directive. a. Establish procedures for use by grantee and subrecipient personnel to ensure that their responsibilities are fulfilled to forward IRs to DINAP within one work day of the discovery of the occurrence. b. Ensure that staff of grantees and subrecipients are familiar with the procedures that are established and the content of the attachments to this document. Questions. Questions concerning this bulletin should be directed to your Federal Representative.

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Description: The Capacity Building Update series is designed to keep workforce development professionals and other stakeholders informed of the various system-building projects sponsored by the Office of Employment and Training Programs and the other ETA initiatives. This publication will be updated regularly to ensure that timely information about these projects is available to the employment and training community. The publication is available electronically as well as through the Training Technology Research Center (TTRC) home page on the Internet under the System Building section, in a format that reflects the look and feel of the original. The publication will be updated electronically as developments warrant; another print edition is expected to be available in early September. Distribution: Copies of the Capacity Building Update will also be distributed to: ETA Regional Offices, State Training Institutes, State Training Coordinators, and other stakeholders. Action Required. Please distribute this publication to interested individuals and make it available at meetings and gatherings of where workforce development system partners and customers congregate.

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