LANSING, Mich. — A new audit released this week shows continued problems for Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency.
Among many issues, the UIA failed to protect sensitive information and even employed temporary workers who had committed previous financial crimes.
Michigan’s Auditor General found three especially glaring issues: the UIA did not always use required safeguards to protect federal tax information, there was not adequate control over which employees had access to UIA data and the UIA did not perform required background checks on 80 percent of the employees sampled.
Previous audits of the beleaguered state agency found more than $8 billion dollars were improperly sent out and that many applicants were improperly denied payments.
UIA Director Julia Dale said in a statement that the agency “has made significant operational changes over the past six months to enhance responsiveness and problem-solving. After more than a decade of disinvestment in UIA, there is still more work to do. UIA is taking decisive steps to bolster our security practices that protect personal information about claimants and businesses.”
In the coming months further investigation will be conducted through the Michigan legislature.
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