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Unemployment appeals backlog shrinks; board reports meet Department of Labor standards
Summary
Agency leaders told the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board that appeals intake has fallen to near pre-pandemic levels, March dispositions rose and case-age metrics approach federal targets; second-level review exceeded all Department of Labor benchmarks for the year.
The Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board heard that appeals intake has returned toward pre-pandemic levels and that case processing metrics improved sharply, though some federal benchmarks remain a target.
Judge Michael Koutre, chief judge and executive director of the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, told the board that daily appeal intake from the Employment Development Department fell back to levels the agency has seen over the past 18 months and that appellate dispositions increased in March. “The field issued 25,800 decisions,” Koutre said, and the overall inventory fell by almost 3,000 cases. He said case age decreased three days to an average of 47 days; by comparison, he noted, the federal standard is 30 days.
The agency also reported longer-term volume from the pandemic years. “We resolved 1,590,639 appeals in 5 years,” Koutre said, calling it “a remarkable number” and an average of more than 318,000 appeals a year. He credited retention of many judges hired during the pandemic and the agency’s case‑management tools for allowing work to be shifted across offices: “That is moving work around to normalize wait times for parties. And I'm happy to report that we moved 1,300 cases since the last meeting.”
Chief of Appellate Operations Judge Bach presented second‑level review results tied to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) standards, saying the office exceeded every benchmark for the DOL year that ended March 31. “To meet the Department of Labor standards, we need to close 50% of our cases in 45 days. We, for March, closed 64.1% of our cases in 45 days,” Judge Bach said. He added that for the DOL year the office closed 65.9% in 45 days, and that 92.4% of cases were closed within 75 days for March and 93.4% for the year. He said the end‑of‑year case‑aging figure for second‑level review was 34.2 days, below the DOL target of 40 days.
Board members asked about staffing and readiness for future surges. Member Roth asked whether the agency can hire quickly if claims spike; Koutre said hiring processes have improved and the agency has become “very proficient” after a heavy recruitment period. He said the agency also uses retired annuitants when necessary. On the question of whether a federal reduction‑in‑force would trigger more appeals, Koutre said the agency has regular communications with EDD and the U.S. Department of Labor and would monitor whether additional appeals arrive: “We will talk with EDD and the Department of Labor, to try to find out what the impacts of those were.”
Board Chair Allen and other members praised the staff and judges. Several members noted the scale of the work and the role of the agency’s case‑management system (CAMS) in improving throughput. Koutre said the agency expects to report additional progress in the coming months and that, barring a sudden spike in claims, current staffing and systems put the agency in a stronger position than in 2020.
The board did not take formal votes on these reports. Officials said they will continue routine reporting to the board and coordination with EDD and DOL to anticipate workload changes.
