Unemployment insurance: Unemployment Insurance Integrity Enforcement Act.

Existing law establishes the Employment Development Department (department) within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and sets forth its powers and duties, including administration of the unemployment and disability insurance programs for California. Existing law requires the department to pay unemployment compensation benefits from the Unemployment Fund to unemployed individuals meeting specified requirements, and continuously appropriates the Unemployment Fund for that purpose. Existing law requires the department to maintain a field investigating staff, whose function includes investigation of violations of the unemployment and disability insurance programs. Existing law establishes the Department of Justice within state government, and establishes the Attorney General as the head of the department and as the chief law officer of the state. Existing law sets forth the powers and duties of the Attorney General, including the direct supervision over the district attorneys of the several counties of the state. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to assist any district attorney in the discharge of their duties, as prescribed. This bill would establish the Unemployment Insurance Integrity Enforcement Program within the Department of Justice, administered by the Attorney General. The bill would require the Attorney General to establish a task force consisting of the Director of Employment Development and 5 members appointed by the Attorney General. The bill would require the task force to coordinate with local district attorneys and, when available and necessary, with the United States Attorney's Office to pursue available methods to recover improper benefit payments made from the department. The bill would require the task force, prior to pursuing any civil or criminal action, to prepare a cost-benefit analysis, as specified. The bill would make an appropriation by depositing funds recovered pursuant to the program into the continuously appropriated Unemployment Fund. This bill would also require the Attorney General, beginning January 1, 2023, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund a grant program targeted at the successful prosecution and elimination of fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. The bill would require the Attorney General, in determining whether to award a grant, to consider specified criteria, and to give priority to those grant applications with the greatest potential to reduce unemployment fraud activity and lessen the economic losses from that fraud. The bill would also prioritize grant applications for multicounty efforts to investigate and prosecute unemployment insurance fraud activity. Under existing law, the information obtained in the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Code is for the exclusive use and information of the Director of Employment Development in the discharge of the director's duties and is not open to the public. Existing law permits the use of the information for specified purposes, including providing authorized governmental agencies with information relevant to various types of fraud investigations, including insurance and Department of Motor Vehicle document fraud. Existing law permits the director to require reimbursement for all direct costs incurred in providing information pursuant to these provisions, except as specified. Existing law makes it a crime for a person to knowingly access, use, or disclose this confidential information without authorization. This bill would require the Employment Development Department (EDD) to provide specified information relevant to investigations of potential unemployment insurance fraud. The bill would require that the information be provided to the extent allowed by federal law. This bill would exempt conduct related to information provided under this provision from the criminal sanctions.