H 871 — An act relating to unemployment insurance fraud

Bill Text

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This bill amends existing law to require repayment of unemployment benefits under certain conditions and strengthens penalties for false statements while introducing mandatory quarterly data cross-checks.

• 21 V.S.A. § 1347

  Any person who fails, without good cause, to make reasonable efforts to secure suitable work when directed to do so by the employment office or the Commissioner and has received any amount as benefits under this chapter with respect to weeks for which the person is determined to be ineligible because of the failure, and any person who by nondisclosure or misrepresentation by the person, or by another, of a material fact (irrespective of whether the nondisclosure or misrepresentation was known or fraudulent) → Any person who fails, without good cause, to make reasonable efforts to secure suitable work when directed to do so by the employment office or the Commissioner and has received any amount as benefits under this chapter with respect to weeks for which the person is determined to be ineligible because of the failure, and any person who by nondisclosure or misrepresentation by the person, or by another, of a material fact (irrespective of whether the nondisclosure or misrepresentation was known or fraudulent) has received any amount as benefits under this chapter while any conditions for the receipt of benefits imposed by this chapter were not fulfilled in the person’s case or while the person was disqualified from receiving benefits, shall be liable for the amount.

  This change clarifies the conditions under which individuals are liable to repay unemployment benefits.

• 21 V.S.A. § 1347

  A person shall be deemed to have failed to make reasonable efforts to secure suitable work if the person: → A person shall be deemed to have failed to make reasonable efforts to secure suitable work if the person fails, without good cause, to conduct an interview for suitable work after an employer has contacted the person to arrange such an interview; or provides false or inaccurate information to an employer that prevents the employer from contacting the person to arrange an interview for suitable work.

  This change explicitly defines specific actions that qualify as failing to make reasonable efforts to secure suitable work.

• 21 V.S.A. § 1368

  A person shall not who intentionally make makes a false statement or representation to obtain or, increase, or initiate any benefit or other payment under this chapter, either for the employee whether for themselves or any other person, shall, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, be: → A person shall not intentionally make a false statement or representation to obtain, increase, or initiate any benefit or other payment under this chapter, either for themselves or any other person; after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the person shall be:

  This change corrects the grammatical structure of the provision while maintaining the prohibition against false statements.

• 21 V.S.A. § 1368

  assessed a further administrative penalty of up to $5,000.00; → assessed a further administrative penalty of up to $5,000.00; and

  This change clarifies that a further administrative penalty is one of multiple potential consequences for making false statements.

• 21 V.S.A. § 1314b

  § 1314b. DATA CROSS-CHECKS To aid in the reduction and prevention of unemployment insurance fraud, the Commissioner shall conduct data cross-checks at least quarterly using the following resources: (1) the National Association of State Workforce Agencies’ Integrity Data Hub; (2) the National Directory of New Hires and the State Directory of New Hires; (3) the Vermont Department of Corrections’ incarceration records; and (4) the Vermont Department of Health’s vital statistics system.

  This provision establishes a new requirement for quarterly data cross-checks to help reduce unemployment insurance fraud.

Action History

1. February 04, 2026

   Read first time and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development

Sponsors

• Kevin C Winter · Primary
• Debra L Powers · Primary
• Sandra "Sandy" H Pinsonault · Primary
• Rob North · Primary
• Todd Nielsen · Primary
• Michael R Morgan · Primary
• Alicia Malay · Primary
• Larry Labor · Primary
• Kenneth W Goslant · Primary
• VL L Coffin IV · Primary
• David "Dave" Bosch · Primary
• Zachary J Harvey · Primary

Subjects