Employment and Training Administration May 1, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collection of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. Building on lessons learned from previous state implementations of modernized UI IT systems, ETA commissioned the development of a UI IT Modernization Pre-Implementation Planning Checklist for states to use prior to ``going live'' with a new system. The checklist is expected to validate that all necessary system functions are available and/or that alternative workarounds are developed prior to the production launch of the UI IT system to help avoid major disruption of services to UI customers and to prevent delays in making UI benefit payments when due. In addition, the checklist will be used by ETA to identify the technical assistance needs of State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) in support of successful implementation of UI IT Modernization projects. This comprehensive checklist denotes critical functional areas that states should verify prior to launching including, but not limited to, technical IT functions and UI business processes that interface with the new system. The list of critical areas identified in the checklist includes, among others, Verification for essential UI Benefit and Tax functions, Interstate Connection (ICON) network and UI reporting interfaces, System Error handling, End-user support mechanisms, Alternate access options and usability issues, Policies and Procedures development and dissemination Technical preparation, Call Center and Customer Service operations, Staffing and Staff Training on new system operations, Help Desk support, Management oversight, Vendor support and Communications. The new ETA 9166 will be used by the National and regional offices to ensure that states have plans to address critical issues prior to launching a new UI IT system and to identify areas where SWAs may need technical assistance to support successful implementation of UI IT Modernization projects. This information will include the project title and purpose, the project timeline and milestones, and a narrative description of the project implementation status. It will also include explanations of plans or workarounds to address the areas of potential issues identified in the implementation checklist, an explanation of any portion of the project that will experience delays in implementation, mitigation proposals for addressing problems and new project timelines (if applicable), a self-reported designation of the implementation status, and a discussion of identified technical assistance needs for the successful completion of the project. ETA believes that the use of this checklist as a planning tool will help states ensure the availability of mission critical functions as the state prepares for the launch of a new system and following the launch of a new system. Currently, ETA is soliciting comments concerning a new collection of information: ETA 9166, Unemployment Insurance (UI) Information Technology (IT) Modernization Pre-Implementation Planning Checklist Report.