Employment Security discovers fraud in its own offices
Published October 4, 2014
by Cullen Browder, WRAL, October 3, 2014.
In trying to improve procedures to verify who qualifies for unemployment benefits, the state Division of Employment Security found a worker at the agency collecting jobless benefits.
A WRAL News investigation in 2012 found Employment Security's claim accuracy was the worst in the country, allowing extensive fraud, including a jail inmate collecting unemployment.
Dale Folwell, a former lawmaker who now heads the unemployment agency, has pushed a culture change so that the state verifies that people receiving benefits actually qualify for them before the checks are sent out.
"We were paying money out on the first floor of the building and then trying to chase it down on the fourth floor, and that's not really fair to the citizens," Folwell said Friday. "We have a responsibility to be good fiduciaries and good stewards of this money."
Tightening up verification came at a price.
The U.S. Department of Labor was able to determine that only 12 percent of a random sample of North Carolina residents receiving jobless benefits in 2012 should be getting them. At the same time, the vast majority of checks went out on time.
Since then, accuracy improved dramatically – it was up to 58 percent at the end of June – but more payments were delayed, with only two-thirds of the initial checks issued within 21 days.
Both numbers still lag well below national standards, which is 87 percent accuracy and 87 percent of initial checks issued within 21 days.
The hard look in the mirror also uncovered warts. Folwell found workers in the Employment Security building who owed the agency money, including one who even collected a state paycheck and unemployment.
"It was embarrassing," he said.
Folwell declined to identify the worker collecting unemployment, saying only that the person no longer works at the agency. The state has filed to recoup the unemployment money that was wrongly issued, he said.
Employment Security also has stepped up crosschecks to make sure businesses pay unemployment insurance. About 10,000 letters recently went out to inform business owners of their obligations.
"Some individuals don't realize that they should have been filing unemployment taxes," he said.
Another improvement he highlighted: The Employment Security call center now answers 97 percent of its calls, up from a low of 3 percent 18 months ago.
http://www.wral.com/employment-security-uncovers-fraud-in-its-own-offices/14042818/
October 5, 2014 at 12:38 pm
Norm Kelly says:
Generally speaking, perhaps broadly general, what's the major difference between liberals and conservatives/libertarians? Liberals believe government is the answer to EVERY question. Conservatives and libertarians know that government is almost NEVER the answer to any question.
Let's look at some FACTS, those things libs ignore because it shoots holes in every one of their arguments. First, there's the group of government agencies that are supposed to protect the health & welfare of citizens. These are the people who ALLOWED the Duke coal ash ponds to exist for decades and knew they were leaking for decades, but continued to let it happen. This is NOT an issue created by the current Republican legislature. This is NOT a problem created by Gov Pat, regardless of how much the N&D and demon pols want to paint it this way. The FACTS simply prove this lib lie to be exactly that, a lie. Who allowed this disaster to be created? Government employees who are specifically charged to prevent this from happening. And it's been happening for DECADES, a period of time when demons CONTROLLED Raleigh! Who still has faith in government over private sector?
Now we hear that the people who are supposed to police unemployment payments are experiencing crisis in their own camp. Not only have these government employees PROVEN that they are incapable of paying people who deserve to receive tax dollars (earned & paid for by people who WORK for a living!), but they don't even police their OWN employees properly. They have people ON STAFF receiving a paycheck at the same time they receive unemployment from TAX PAYERS! Who still has faith in government over private sector?
Then there WAS the case of the state buying a lake rated ferry to transport school kids on the outer banks. What's the challenge with using a lake rated ferry at the outer banks? The outer banks IS NOT a lake, it's THE OCEAN! This would seem to put school kids at risk, but perhaps it's just me being unrealistic. And it's important to note that it was demon pols who controlled Raleigh when this happened. Those kindly, loving, for-the-children, non-racist demon pols. Who still has faith in government over private sector?
How about the tea cup museum? Or the Parton theater? When the state was CONTROLLED by the demon party, we were repeatedly told that the state budget had been cut to the bone, there was no room for further cuts. Yet for some reason taxes and fees were going up, and state spending was going up. And Gov Bev hired A SECOND leader for the state public school system. So if the state budget was cut to the bone under demon leadership, where did the money come from to create a tea cup museum? And why was the money found to create a tea cup museum? And if the budget were cut to the bone, there was no room left for cuts, where did the money come from to buy the Parton theater? And WHY did the state buy the Parton museum? Who still has faith in government?
How about those 2 state employees in Gov Bev's administration who worked in Raleigh, but lived in the Charlotte area? They commuted every day (or regularly). They were paid mileage for their travel. And a report, on WRAL as I recall, showed that many times their travel time was counted toward their work time. Who still has faith in government over private sector?
What's the major difference between those who have faith in government agencies and government spending versus those of us who prefer private sector? Government is a MONOPOLY. Government abhors competition. Government prevents competition. Take the state lottery as a prime example. Private gambling - bad, preys on the poor, uncontrolled (for some reason!). Government sponsored gambling - good for the education establishment, does not prey on the poor (for some reason!), regulated (by the same people who run it!). Who still has faith in government?
When I deal with a private sector business I HAVE CHOICE! When I deal with a government agency monopoly, I have NO CHOICE! Examples only coming. Not intended as an endorsement of ANY private sector business, nor as a slam against any private sector business. If I am in the market for a new TV, which I am not, I can check out BestBuy, TigerDirect, SamsClub, HHGregg, etc. etc. etc. I can find the best TV for the best price, with the options I WANT in my new TV. The CHOICE resides solely with ME, where it BELONGS! When I want to have my garbage collected at my residence, what choice do I have? The government agency is going to charge me regardless of if I want to choose a better, more reliable, less expensive private collector. (i expect this option isn't available here, but it's an example!) Government has a monopoly on this! When I want to hire an electrical contractor to install a new ceiling fan in my home, I have HUNDREDS of choices. When I need to have an electrical inspector come in, I have NO CHOICE of anyone with a good reputation or someone who knows the regulations. I MUST use the government's hired help who may be experiencing stuff in their personal life, or may be irritated with management. If the inspector is having a bad day, they could make my inspection a living hell. And you know this is true because almost everyone has experienced an inspector who decides that certain rules apply that actually don't exist, or that they decide for SOME REASON that every rule in the book applies IN THIS CASE when you know full well others have not been put through the same ringer. In my neighborhood we experienced this with work we were having done. The neighborhood adjacent to us had the same type of work recently completed. The government agencies involved WORKED WITH that neighborhood to get the work done, with no special inspections, no extra property surveys, no formal building plan, just some pencil lines on a map already in possession of the town agency. Our neighborhood went through the same process with the same goal in mind - the same TYPE of work to be done, but obviously with OUR choices for options. The result: every area we proposed a change required a survey. Every area required a formal plan to be drawn up on a new map created by an engineering firm we had to hire. No option to make pencil marks on a plan already in town hands. Every 't' had to be crossed. Every 'i' had to be dotted. Treatment for one citizen different from treatment for another citizen. What was our choice? We HAD NONE because the government is a monopoly!
Regardless of how many times government PROVES itself as incompetent, no matter how many times government proves that it is INCAPABLE of properly doing a job, for some illogical, unknown reason, libs continue to have 100% faith in government and ZERO faith in anything private sector. How do we know the N&D believes in government also. Because when given a choice of endorsing a candidate for public office, they either choose not to make an endorsement OR they endorse the lib candidate. But they continue to criticize EVERYTHING conservative or Republican.
There ARE INDEED some things that government MUST do. But that is an extremely short list. Most everything you do in life, on a day to day basis, should be, and would be better, done with private sector instead of government. And it would likely be less expensive. And done in a more timely fashion. And taxes could go down because there would be less for government agencies to do. And fewer government employees who need to be paid by taxpayers. Smaller government is more efficient government. And better for citizens. Competition improves quality. And sometimes reduces cost. How's the postal service working out? How is Obamacancer improving health care (for a good answer look at the socialized VA Health care system). Faith in government can be proven disastrous for those who are willing to look at the FACTS. The world is full of socialist governments. Look at just 1 or 2 examples of countries run by socialists. Look at 1 or 2 examples of states or localities in the US run by the socialist party of the US, formerly known as the Democrat Party. Each of these examinations will prove to anyone who takes the time that socialism has it's own defeat built in. Reliance on government is destructive.
And we have perfect examples of this in our own state. Even when WRAL runs stories like this, libs do NOT change their perspective on government. It seems to reinforce their belief that the problem was created because government didn't have ENOUGH control of the situation to actually make it work; somehow private sector was involved and created the problem. Government's hands were tied by private sector interference that allowed the problem to be created. Instead of looking at the government as the problem.
