Changes coming to unemployment insurance registration

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Things will look quite different for Idahoans renewing their unemployment insurance (UI) for the 2021-22 year.

Idaho department of labor is adding an extra step to the process to combat massive amounts of identity fraud plaguing the system.

Officials say that up to fifty percent of initial claims per week have been illegitimate.

According to Idaho Department of Labor director Jani Revier, all initial claims and annual renewals will have to verify the claimant’s identity using id.me software.

“We feel a responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars and the businesses that pay into that trust fund. To ensure that only legitimate, real people are eligible for those benefits and get those benefits,” says Revier. “We don’t want to be sending millions of dollars to crime rings across the country or internationally.”

Claimants will have to provide identification digitally to be accepted into the unemployment insurance program.

Revier says this security measure may be an extra step, but it is necessary to keep the program safe, not just an extra hassle.

Revier also stresses that data being used for illegitimate claims were found outside of the UI system and no data has been stolen from their database.

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