DIRECTIVE	:	UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 14-00
TO	:	STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES
FROM	:	GRACE A. KILBANE Administrator Office of Workforce Security
SUBJECT	:	Interstate - Using Withdrawal/Invalid Claim Screen for Backdated Initial Claims and the Elimination of Claimant/Employer Separation Statement, Form IB-3

1.Purpose. To advise States of the elimination of the Claimant/Employer Separation Statement, Form IB-3, and to provide agent State instructions for providing weeks claimed information to liable States on backdated initial claims.

2.References. ET Handbook 392, 2^nd Edition; UIPL No. 28-98, and UIPL No. 36-98.

3.Background. States were notified in UIPL No. 36-98 that the interstate procedures were being modified to eliminate agent State fact-finding at the time of an initial claim. Except for the Claimant/Employer Separation Statement, Form IB-3, all other fact-finding forms (Forms IB-11 and IB-11S) were eliminated effective with initial claims filed on and after September 3, 1998. Effective on that date, the agent State was no longer responsible for any fact-finding interviews with respect to interstate claimants. However, because some liable States used the Form IB-3 as a notice to the employer of an initial claim being filed and needed to do computer programming to generate the State's regular notice, elimination of the Form IB-3 was postponed. Establishing a date for the elimination of the IB-3 was discussed at the National Interstate Training Meeting in October 1998 and the selected date of April 3, 2000, was announced at the September 1999 meeting.

Implementation of the Interstate Connection Withdrawal/Invalid Claim (WIC) application became effective with the elimination of the Form IB-2, Interstate Continued Claim, in July 1998. This application allows States to immediately post information pertaining to prior claims, primarily monetarily ineligible or withdrawn claims, for immediate real-time access by other States. Since the implementation of the WIC, States have proposed that its use be expanded to include the posting of the week ending date(s) of the weeks that the claimant wants to claim on the backdated claim taken by the agent State. This would allow States to access the WIC to determine the number of certification forms to send to the claimant upon receipt of a backdated TC-IB1 (electronic initial claim).

4.New Procedures/Effective Date. Effective immediately, when a backdated interstate initial claim is taken, the agent State should access the WIC and post the week ending date for each week being claimed by the claimant. Until all States are operational on the WIC application, agent States will continue to post the backdated weeks claimed in the remarks section of the Form IB-1.

The elimination of the Form IB-3 is effective for all interstate initial claims taken on and after April 3, 2000.

5.Action Required. State Administrators are requested to make this directive available to all appropriate management and agent and liable State operations staff.

6.Inquiries. Any questions should be addressed to the appropriate Regional Office.