Purpose
The policy provides guidance to Workforce Development Boards (WDBs), Job Service and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program directors regarding the use of supplemental employment data for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I, WIA Title 3 and TAA performance measures. This policy update rescinds and replaces DWS WIA Policy Update 04-07 which was issued on November 30, 2005.
Legislative/Regulatory References
- Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 17-05
- Workforce Investment Act 20 CFR §666
- WIA Policy Update 04-07 Supplemental Employment Data
Background
On February 17, 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) issued TEGL 17-05 which details its common performance measures policy. This policy continues to recognize that not all employment is covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage reporting requirements, and allows states to report uncovered employment as determined through evidence of supplemental employment data. The policy also expands the application of supplemental employment data to computing TAA and Wagner Peyser performance measures.
Supplemental employment data has different applications in the calculation of the various measures. If a participant is not found in the UI wage record, supplemental data sources may be used to determine employment status. That individual is included in the calculations for the entered employment, employment retention, and employment and credential attainment measures. For the average earnings and earnings change measures, if a participant is not found in the UI wage record and other sources are used to verify the individual's employment status, the individual is excluded from the earnings measures' numerators and denominators.
Obtaining employment verification and documentation has proven difficult and time consuming for case managers and WDB program staff. In recent years, organizations that provide employment verification services have appeared. In exchange for certain participant information including a social security number, these services will obtain confirmation of employment and supply that information to the requesting organization. This policy includes an attachment with guidance on working with these types of services.
Policy
In order to most accurately report participants successfully served by WIA Title 1, Title 3 and TAA in the program performance measures, the Department of Workforce Development, Division of Workforce Solutions (DWD/DWS) implemented a process for identifying and reporting supplemental employment data in Program Year (PY) 03-04.
WDBs, case managers and program staff are encouraged to obtain and document supplemental employment data for exited program participants who are not found in the UI Wage Record. Supplemental employment data will be applied to applicable U.S. DOL-required performance measures when UI wage record data is not available for a participant and another acceptable source of data can document that the individual is employed.
Such circumstances may include individuals who are:
- Self-employed (e.g., agricultural worker, consultant, barber, cosmetologist);
- Non-covered employees (e.g., federal employees, such as military, postal service, railroad);
- Employed out-of-state (Note: The Wage Record Interstate System [WRIS] may capture this data.)
DWS does not require any local program to obtain supplemental employment data. The decision to obtain and report this information is subject to each local program's discretion and available resources. Gathering this information is labor intensive and the results do not always guarantee improved performance outcomes. The ideal time to obtain supplemental employment data is during follow-up contacts with exited participants. If case managers wait until notified that the data is needed, it may be impossible to get the necessary information, because the participant may have exited as long as two years ago.
Further guidance that details the effect supplemental employment data has on each performance measure is discussed in the Supplemental Employment Data Technical Assistance Guide, which is available on the DWD website at: http://dwd·wisconsin·gov/dwdwia/PDF/supplemental_data_tag·pdf .