COLUMBIA --- An audit of the South Carolina agency in charge of unemployment benefits will focus on how it determines eligibility for aid and whether businesses are paying their fair share into the trust fund.
A letter to the Legislative Audit Council, Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, listed 20 areas to be explored in the audit of the South Carolina Employment Security Commission, which required $150 million in federal loans last week to pay ballooning unemployment claims.
On Thursday, the commission's executive director, Roosevelt "Ted" Halley, said charges of mismanagement from lawmakers and Gov. Mark Sanford have been unfair.
"I would put the operations of the (commission), from a technology perspective, from a resource-management perspective, up against any agency," Mr. Halley said.
"We are going through a period when our workload is heavier than it's ever been. We're working staff early in the morning, late at night ... trying to accommodate the needs of the people of South Carolina."
South Carolina, which has an 8.4 percent unemployment rate, the third-highest in the nation, is among five states to ask for federal loans to pay unemployment benefits.
To date, the total requested is more than $150 million. Michigan leads with a $750 million loan.
In South Carolina, there is plenty of blame to go around, said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project in New York.
"The trust fund was not rebuilding when it should have been, and now the piper's coming in," he said. "The governor, the Legislature and the commission, that's everyone who's responsible for letting the system get this way."
This month, Mr. Ryberg and other lawmakers asked for an audit of the commission.
The Aiken Republican is chairman of the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, which has jurisdiction over the commission.
Reach Sarita Chourey at (803) 727-4257 or sarita.chourey@morris.com.
AUDIT'S SCOPE
South Carolina lawmakers have asked for an audit of the South Carolina Employment Security Commission to cover:
- The commission's expenditures, including assigned vehicles and travel reimbursements.
- The effectiveness of the commission's job-matching program and of job postings in the business sector.
- How to reduce fraud and registration mistakes and whether claims are processed and adjudicated efficiently.
- Whether the commission is cooperating with the state's technical colleges, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the South Carolina Department of Social Services and with adult education programs.
- How well the commission's information technology safeguards and shares data.
Comments
If there ain't anything wrong, why is the director whining so loud?
justus4: minorities are counted in the total unemployment numbers, currently listed at 8.4%. Oh wait, I bet you're thinking you and/or your racial group is special and deserve some extra attention. Unfortunately for you and others like you, poverty, unemployment, and difficult times come upon all racial/ethnic groups. Get real. Stop whining. Grow up and take some responsibility for YOUR individual, particular situation.
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