Reports

The COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges for VETS in its mission to: (1) prepare America’s veterans and transitioning service members for meaningful careers, (2) provide them with employment resources and expertise, (3) protect their employment rights, and (4) promote their employment opportunities. VETS’s JVSG program provides individualized career services to veterans with significant barriers to employment, especially veterans who are economically or educationally disadvantaged. The program also aims to increase employment opportunities for veterans and encourage the hiring of disabled veterans. To this end, it conducts outreach to employers and business associations and engages in advocacy efforts with hiring executives. The audit will focus on how the pandemic impacted the JVSG program as well as the effectiveness of the program during a health crisis.

The American Rescue Plan Act, as amended by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, provided $1 billion in funding to DOL to prevent and detect fraud, promote equitable access, ensure timely payment of benefits, and reduce backlogs. Of these funds, DOL provided approximately $219 million in grants to improve UI claimant outreach and customer service processes, implement strategies to reduce backlog, and improve access for workers in communities that may historically experience barriers. These grants will provide funding for states to improve public awareness and service delivery. This audit will focus on determining if ETA administered these grants in accordance with ARPA and DOL’s objectives for UI access and if recipients are on target to achieve performance outcomes.

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many of ETA’s job training programs to cease operation. This interrupted participants’ job training, potentially preventing them from completing their training and getting a job in the areas in which they were trained. This series of audits will focus on how effectively ETA ensured workforce development grant funds were used as intended in the State of New York during the pandemic.

On February 7, 2022, DOL issued Unemployment Insurance Program Letter 20-21, Change 1, regarding states’ ability to waive the recovery of certain UI overpayments under the CARES Act program. There are concerns these waivers could adversely impact the pursuit of fraud in the UI program. Also, the waivers could potentially allow for fraudulent CARES Act UI payments to go unrecovered. This audit will determine the impact of waivers on UI overpayments, fraud investigations, and recoveries.

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many of ETA’s job training programs to cease operation. This interrupted participants’ job training, potentially preventing them from completing their training and getting a job in the areas in which they were trained. This series of audits will focus on how effectively ETA ensured workforce development grant funds were used as intended in the State of Texas during the pandemic.

In September 2022, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) alerted U.S. Department of Labor to over $45 billion in potential fraud paid in four high-risk areas. One high-risk area was Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants filing with Social Security numbers (SSN) of deceased persons. Through Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the OIG provided states with underlying methodology as well as specific claimant information for follow-up action. This audit will examine the extent to which ETA and states have taken action to follow up on potentially fraudulent CARES Act UI claims filed with SSNs of deceased persons identified and referred by the OIG.

In September 2022, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) alerted U.S. Department of Labor to over $45 billion in potential fraud paid in four high-risk areas. One high-risk area was UI claimants filing with Social Security numbers (SSNs) of federal prisoners. Through Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the OIG provided states with underlying methodology as well as specific claimant information for follow-up action. This audit will examine the extent to which ETA and states have taken action to follow up on potentially fraudulent CARES Act Unemployment Insurance (UI)claims filed with SSNs of federal prisoners identified and referred by the OIG. 

In September 2022, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) alerted the U.S. Department of Labor to over $45 billion in potential fraud paid in four high-risk areas. Multistate claimants were the largest high-risk area. Through Employment and Training Administration (ETA) the OIG provided states with underlying methodology as well as specific claimant information for follow-up action. This audit will examine the extent to which ETA and states have taken action to follow up on potentially fraudulent CARES Act Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims identified and referred by the OIG.

In September 2022, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) alerted U.S. Department of Labor to over $45 billion in potential fraud paid in four high-risk areas. One high-risk area was Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants filing with suspicious email accounts. Through Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the OIG provided states with underlying methodology as well as specific claimant information for follow-up action. This audit will examine the extent to which ETA and states have taken action to follow up on potentially fraudulent CARES Act UI claims filed with suspicious email accounts identified and referred by the OIG.

HUD OIG will summarize the conclusions/findings and recommendations reported by seven participating OIGs and the General Accountability Office related to natural disaster preparedness.  Our objective is to inform Federal agencies and the OIG community of the reported conclusions/findings and recommendations regarding preparing for and responding to natural disasters.
 

HUD OIG is conducting a limited review of HUD's administration of supplemental operating funds under the CARES Act. The CARES Act authorized an additional $685 million in public housing operating funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.  The review objective is to assess Public Housing Agencies' (PHA) experiences and challenges and HUD's efforts in providing guidance related to the administration of supplemental operating funds under the CARES Act.

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify you that we are researching prior audits of HUD’s Single Family Default Monitoring System to provide HUD information regarding lessons learned and risks identified in these prior audits that HUD should act on now to ensure program integrity and mitigate the risk of financial loss for COVID-19 related forbearance assistance and foreclosure moratorium related to single family loans.

The purpose of this memorandum is to notify you that we are researching prior audits of HUD’s partial claims loss mitigation option to provide HUD information regarding lessons learned and risks identified in these prior audits that HUD should act on now to ensure program integrity and mitigate the risk of financial loss for COVID-19 related partial claims.

HUD OIG is researching Public and Indian Housing and Multifamily use of vacant units during previously Presidentially Declared Disasters and the COVID-19 declared Disaster, as well as PIH and Multifamily’s ability to place a waitlist preference for the homeless and how many homeless individuals had a 50058 or 50059 new move-in during the COVID pandemic.  Since the introduction of the CARES act, there has been an emphasis to review how HUD has reacted to the COVID-19 disaster.  HUD allocated $1 billion to keep America's homeless population safe.  The purpose of this research is to issue memorandums for both PIH and Multifamily addressing the research topics.