Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Delaware Labor seeks staffing, a permanent audit role and system upgrades as paid family leave launches and UI modernizes
Summary
The Department of Labor told the Joint Finance Committee it is mid‑implementation for paid family leave and modernizing unemployment insurance technology. Officials requested targeted positions, including an internal audit manager, and warned that staffing and legacy systems still constrain service timeliness.
The Department of Labor presented its FY26 budget priorities to the Joint Finance Committee and outlined operational needs tied to implementation of paid family medical leave and modernization of the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) system.
The department described paid family leave implementation milestones: a new integrated platform (Labor First) is accepting employer registrations and the first employer contribution reporting date is scheduled for April 30, 2025. Chris Cunahan, Director of the Division of Paid Leave, told lawmakers that more than 5,000 employer entities have registered and that testing with payroll providers and banks is ongoing.
Secretary (Department of Labor) summarized the department’s broader technology priorities: a 10‑year agreement with Infosys to replace the UI tax and benefit system, a Resolve case‑management rollout and continued work on integration with paid family leave functionality. Leaders said the new platform will be delivered in releases with a UI‑specific release expected in late 2025 and the full project stretching into 2027.
Staffing and classification requests: The department requested a full‑time, general‑fund internal audit manager to review large appropriated special funds, including UI and (soon) the paid‑leave fund, arguing that recent audits and increasingly complex fund flows require a central oversight role. Officials said UI continues to experience an adjudication backlog and that many longstanding vacancies remain in claims processing and tax accounting; several reclassification requests were sent to DHR to align pay grades with job responsibilities and market realities.
Industrial affairs and enforcement modernization: The Department requested ongoing spend authority for an IT modernization of Industrial Affairs (to support contractor registration, wage enforcement and anti‑discrimination work) and additional positions to staff a contractor registry and a permanent budget line for appropriated special funds.
Unemployment insurance performance and customer impact: Department slides referenced the federal timeliness metric for initial UI payments (first payment within 21 days). The department reported it was below federal targets for first‑payment timeliness in FY24 (63.9%) and said it has reallocated resources, posted three deputy adjudicator positions and added casual seasonal staff to reduce the adjudication backlog.
Why this matters: UI delays directly affect Delawareans awaiting income support; paid family leave is a new payroll‑withholding program that will affect employers and employees statewide starting in 2025. The committee and members of the public pressed department officials for more details about operational readiness and what constituents should expect as contribution and claim systems go live.
Questions and committee follow‑ups: Senators and representatives sought details on vacancies, the timeline for filling reclassification requests with DHR, and whether the department can provide aids and legislators with a clearer escalation path for constituents who cannot get timely UI responses. The department committed to providing follow‑up materials and to working with payroll providers and banks to smooth contribution transmissions.
Ending note: Department leaders asked for targeted position authorizations and for support for the multi‑year systems modernization that the department says underpins UI, paid family leave and several enforcement functions.
