This audit found the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) did not effectively manage the collection of delinquent unemployment insurance (UI) contributions from some Massachusetts businesses, resulting in millions of dollars of unpaid contributions. It examines the period of July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016.
- This page, Audit of the Department of Unemployment Assistance, is offered by
- Office of the State Auditor
Audit Audit of the Department of Unemployment Assistance
| Organization: | Office of the State Auditor |
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| Date published: | June 15, 2018 |
Executive Summary
In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has conducted a performance audit of the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) for the period July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016. In this performance audit, we examined DUA’s process for maximizing the collection of delinquent unemployment insurance (UI) contributions due from businesses with employees working full time, temporarily, or part time on one or more days in any 13 weeks during a calendar year and businesses that pay wages of $1,500 or more in any calendar quarter.
Below is a summary of our findings and recommendations, with links to each page listed.
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DUA did not properly administer the collection of millions of dollars in UI contributions. |
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DUA should establish formal policies and procedures for all activities regarding the administration of its collection process and implement effective monitoring controls to ensure that these policies and procedures are adhered to. The policies and procedures should include a policy that provides for the charge-off or removal of any delinquent employer account where the amount owed is 10 dollars or less. |
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DUA did not intercept over $18 million in payments made by the Commonwealth to state contractors who had delinquent UI contributions. |
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DUA should engage with the Payment Intercept Program and put in place an interface with that program to ensure that employers with delinquent UI contributions owed to DUA cannot receive funds from the Commonwealth via approved contracts. |
During our audit, DUA imposed significant constraints on the audit process. Specifically, the agency did not respond to repeated verbal and written requests for specific documentation in a timely manner and did not provide timely access to its electronic accounts receivable records. Further, DUA unnecessarily delayed the conduct of our audit work and denied OSA personnel access to data pertaining to our audit objective. Although OSA was eventually able to complete the audit work necessary to meet the audit objective, these constraints significantly delayed the completion of this audit.
A PDF copy of the Department of Unemployment Assistance audit is available here.
List of Abbreviations
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CMR |
Code of Massachusetts Regulations |
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DUA |
Department of Unemployment Assistance |
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EOLWD |
Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development |
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IRS |
Internal Revenue Service |
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IT |
information technology |
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OSA |
Office of the State Auditor |
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OSC |
Office of the State Comptroller |
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UI |
unemployment insurance |
Table of Contents
Contact
Phone
Main
(617) 727-2075
Online
Fax
(617) 727-3014
Address
Massachusetts State House
Room 230
Boston, MA 02133
Room 230
Boston, MA 02133