Kentucky Auditor Mike Harmon’s office released Tuesday the first volume of the Statewide Single Audit of Kentucky for Fiscal Year 2020 that included many issues with the state’s unemployment.
In the report, Harmon said it contained 25 findings, with half of them dealing with problems identified within the Office of Unemployment Insurance and the Unemployment Insurance Fund. Harmon said one of the biggest issues was the Office of Unemployment Insurance archived more than 400,000 unread emails sent into their assistance email account.
Another finding included the Office of Unemployment Insurance leadership making decisions that led to federal law violations.
Harmon’s office also looked at a sample of state employees that received unemployment benefits, although they should not have.
Harmon added a majority of the issues found in both offices came from an auto-pay system that removed key controls that provided better oversight on verification and payment of those benefits.
Harmon said many of the people who received benefits face the prospect of having to repay benefits they should not have received. He added the 2020 unemployment system represents a failure on the part of the government to serve those who needed it the most and a failure to ensure the integrity of the unemployment insurance fund.
Harmon said his office would provide recommendations and accountability to help make sure unemployment claims and payments are processed correctly and never again have a situation like this.
Volume two of the report, which deals with Kentucky’s compliance with federal grant requirements, will be released in April.
View the entire first report here.
