Detecting and Reporting Fraudulent UI Claims: Fighting UI Fraud is Everyone’s Job
The COVID-19 crisis has made the environment ripe for fraud. States’ UI systems are being overwhelmed with record numbers of new and weekly claims; they have staffed up rapidly to process claims; however, there has not been time to train new or contracted employees on how to identify suspicious claims. With an urgency to pay claims quickly, states have waived their one week waiting period. The waiting period is used by states to validate and investigate claim eligibility; and with many employers working remotely, no one is there to timely respond to the UI notices that come by mail. Savio…
Instructions to Identify Theft Victim
MDES provided us with instructions that if a victim has received a MDES debit card, the debit card should be shredded immediately and your employee's email their name, phone number, date debit card was received and date card was destroyed. The email address they provided is safe@mdes.ms.gov. We are advising identify theft victims to copy/photograph (back and front) the card so they will have evidence when they file their police report. They should also retain all mail associated with the claim to support their police report. After you report the claims as fraudulent, the employees should get an acknowledgement from…
Reporting Fraudulent Claim to MDES
Send an email to safe@mdes.ms.gov with the employees’ name and last four digits of their social security number. This email should contain this or similar language: “We would like to report a fraudulent identity theft claim filed against the SSN of John Smith XXX-XX-1234. Mr. Smith is currently employed at Employer’s Name. Mr. Smith has stated that he did not file a claim for unemployment benefits. Please take the necessary steps to invalidate this fraudulent claim and hold Mr. Smith harmless for any benefits that may have been paid to the criminals that victimized him. We also request that our account…
Unemployment vs. Returning to Work: How to bring employees back to work when UI pays more
With the outbreak of COVID-19 many employers’ workforces were impacted by Federal, State, and local governments’ virus containment efforts. Stay-at-home, shelter-in-place, and other social distancing orders have resulted in the shutdown of nonessential businesses and restrictions on other services. These actions have resulted in record job losses all over the country. To help both employers and employees, Federal and State governments have issued economic stimulus packages. The two largest stimulus bills affecting HR professionals are the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Both of these Acts contain provisions that affect…
Harassment Proliferation (Me Too Movement)
We are all seeing the deluge of harassment cases that are being reported in the media. There is a high probability that we may see an increase in harassment claims in our work environments. It is prudent to stay ahead of this and educate / remind managers that dealing with employees must be professional at all times. One of the most probable times for accusations to occur is in a disciplinary or termination setting. We always advise the employer to have at least two management level staff present in disciplinary/termination meetings. This may seem burdensome, unnecessary, etc. but it is…
Command of the Meeting
Command of the investigation / disciplinary / termination meeting. Do not allow employees to dictate the terms of the meeting. At the outset, define the protocol that will be followed during the meeting and follow the protocol. Example approach: We are here to discuss the incident that occurred on 1/1/17. During this meeting we will all behave in a professional manner. Any unprofessional behavior, such as raising of the voice, will result in the meeting being terminated. I will speak first and when I conclude I will provide you an opportunity to provide a statement. Jane Doe is sitting in…
Show the Evidence
Prior to warning or discharging an employee the employee should always be given opportunity to respond to allegations of miss-doings. If the employee is denying any wrong doing and the employer has evidence (video, emails, pictures, etc.) to the contrary it is generally good practice to inform the employee of the evidence and allow the employee an opportunity to see the evidence. There may be occasions when the termination is based on other employee statements and it is not proper to disclose who provided the information or show statements made by other employees. Example Case - A nurse, who had…
Initiation of Family Medical Leave (FMLA)
In many organizations employees report to their manager that they need time off from work and little if any information is shared as to the reason for the time off. The manager may be inquisitive but in many instances the questions concern when the employee will return. The manager generally has little to no knowledge of FMLA and may or may not have Human Resource assistance readily available. We continue to see situations where an employee, eligible for FMLA and absent due to a qualifying reason, has been off for a lengthy period and only then does senior management /…
Employee Discharge Reason(s)
There is no definitive best practice on whether to present a written document to an employee at the time of discharge. However, whether the termination is presented in written format or verbally relayed to the employee you should present all reason(s) for the separation (Do not sugar coat and be specific to the facts and policy violations). Example case – Employee is found sleeping on the job, multiple first hand witnesses. Company policy states sleeping on the job is grounds for immediate termination. When the employee woke she was speaking incoherently and displaying erratic behavior. The HR Department determined that…
Defining Management Expectations
Individual applies for a job based on a job description that defines work tasks and skills, individual is hired, new hire orientation occurs including a whirlwind overview of the company and a quick review of a 100 + page employee handbook. They start work. Several months (or in some cases years) the manager reports that the individual is not doing what the manager “expects” (examples: attendance, cellphone usage, responding to customer calls, timeliness for meetings, helping co-workers, Internet usage, professionalism, etc.). Occasionally, the issue has been addressed with the employee and the employee simply is unwilling to alter the behavior. …
