Department of Unemployment Assistance - Finding 3

The Department of Unemployment Assistance violated Section 62A(a) of Chapter 151A of the Massachusetts General Laws by failing to provide in-person assistance at three of its regional offices.

DUA did not provide in-person assistance for UI claims at three of its regional offices: Brockton, Lawrence, and Springfield. According to DUA officials, its regional offices were designated exclusively for appeal hearings. In-person assistance for UI claims was only available by appointment at DUA’s Boston Re‑Employment Center.

Because in-person assistance was only available at the Boston Re-Employment Center, claimants in other regional locations were required to travel to Boston. This limited access to face-to-face support, particularly for individuals who lacked time, resources, or reliable transportation to Boston or internet access to file a claim online. Some claimants may have had to rely solely on telephone calls or DUA’s online portal, with the significant delays and other issues cited in Finding 1. This reduced accessibility, further increased wait times, and created barriers for certain populations in the Commonwealth and interstate claimants, potentially delaying access to essential unemployment assistance.

Table 5 shows the approximate distance each gateway municipality¹⁹ in the Commonwealth is from DUA’s Boston Re‑Employment Center by motor vehicle.

Table 5. Driving Distance from Gateway Municipalities to DUA’s Boston Re‑Employment Center

Gateway Municipality	Approximate Distance in Miles from DUA’s Re-Employment Center*
Attleboro	38
Barnstable	71
Brockton	23
Chelsea	5
Chicopee	89
Everett	5
Fall River	51
Fitchburg	52
Haverhill	37
Holyoke	90
Lawrence	30
Leominster	47
Lowell	31
Lynn	12
Malden	7
Methuen	31
New Bedford	58
Peabody	20
Pittsfield	136
Quincy	9
Revere	7
Salem	19
Springfield	91
Taunton	38
Westfield	97

*  Distances are rounded to the nearest mile using the shortest route from each municipality’s center to DUA’s Boston Re-Employment Center. Distances were calculated using Google Maps.

Figure 11 shows the number of claimants from each ZIP code who filed UI claims during the audit period.

Figure 11. UI Claimants by ZIP Code for Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024

Authoritative Guidance

According to the language of Section 62A(a) Chapter 151A of the Massachusetts General Laws that was in effect during the audit period,

The division of unemployment assistance shall provide a minimum level of in-person assistance at the following regional offices: Worcester, Milford, Dudley, Springfield, Gardner, Greenfield, Pittsfield, North Adams, New Bedford, Northampton, Taunton, Brockton, Boston, Lawrence and Framingham.

The language of Section 62A of Chapter 151A of the General Laws that was in effect during the audit period required DUA to maintain walk-in services at the above-specified regional offices, including providing general guidance, assistance with UI applications, UI claim-related information, and claimant orientation. This same section of the General Laws further required DUA to provide orientation to claimants within 15 days of their application and to provide claimants with an opportunity to meet with a DUA staff member in person.

Reasons for Issue

DUA officials told us that Section 62A(a) Chapter 151A of the General Laws was outdated. However, this was the law in effect during the audit period. In addition, DUA officials told us that staff reductions and budget constraints contributed to the closure of general assistance services at regional offices. DUA officials also noted that, as of July 1, 2024, after the audit period, the statute was amended to require regional in-person assistance in each workforce area, coordinated with the MassHire Department of Career Services, clarifying the scope and frequency of in-person support.

Recommendations

1. DUA should ensure that it complies with Section 62A(a) Chapter 151A of the General Laws, including the requirement of providing in-person assistance at its regional offices.
2. DUA should regularly assess whether its regional offices provide sufficient in-person assistance to meet the needs of the communities they serve.

Auditee’s Response

DUA has consistently provided in-person services for claimants at the Boston Re-Employment Center and has partnered with the MassHire Department of Career Services to train staff on assisting DUA claimants visiting any of the MassHire Career Centers. Additionally, in July 2025, DUA placed staff at MassHire Career Centers, with in-person services available in regions across Massachusetts. In partnership with MassHire, DUA continues to assess whether these services are being utilized and meeting the needs of its constituency. 

While at the time of the Audit, Chapter 151A required in-person assistance at regional offices, those offices no longer exist, and, as [the Office of the State Auditor] acknowledges, the law was amended effective July 1, 2024, and no longer requires DUA staff to provide in-person services at the nonexistent locations.

Auditor’s Reply

We acknowledge that Chapter 151A was amended, effective July 1, 2024, and that the requirement to provide in-person services at regional offices changed. However, our finding was based on DUA’s practices during the audit period and the law that was in effect at that time. The changes DUA describes occurred after the audit period and were not evaluated as part of our audit.

We urge DUA to continue evaluating the availability and utilization of in-person services to ensure that claimants across the Commonwealth have reasonable access to assistance and that delivery of this assistance meets claimants’ needs. We also note that DUA advised us that it did not comply with the law at the time because it viewed the law as outdated (just as it does not meet the federal government’s timeliness standards for claimant first benefit payments because it views them as outdated—see Finding 2). With regard to this finding, DUA was not complying with the law because it did not agree with the law. As a result, accessibility to UI benefits was unlawfully limited throughout this time period. We remain concerned that, due to DUA’s willingness to break the prior law, similar actions may continue to occur under the new law, negatively impacting DUA’s ability to provide in-person assistance. We strongly urge DUA to implement our recommendation and ensure that it follows the law.

19.    Section 3A of Chapter 23A of the Massachusetts General Laws defines a gateway municipality as “a municipality with a population greater than 35,000 and less than 250,000 with a median household income below the commonwealth’s average and a rate of educational attainment of a bachelor’s degree or above that is below the commonwealth’s average.”

 

Date published:	September 21, 2026