Unemployment agency didn't ensure background checks for 5,500 staffers. Some had prior crimes

How is it that people who were fired or quit were still allowed computer access to the system for weeks? In at least one instance, an employee fired for approving fraudulent claims for kickbacks, continued to do so for weeks after being fired. First action usually taken when someone leaves a company is to disable their log in access, but not here. And no one has been held accountable.


Unemployment agency didn't ensure background checks for 5,500 staffers. Some had prior crimes, audit says

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency failed to ensure background checks were conducted for more than 5,500 employees as the agency ramped up its numbers under a wave of new claims at the start of the pandemic.

The audit found 169 workers had prior convictions including financial crimes, and 71 of those 169 were still employed at the time of the review.

The agency also allowed departed workers continued access to the unemployment system, leading in at least one case to about $3.8 million in fraud, according to an audit of the agency's personnel management. The agency has yet to hold the staffing agencies responsible for employees who committed fraud.

A total of 63 of 139 departed workers sampled by the Auditor General's office had continued access to the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System (MiDAS) "to view and make unauthorized changes to claims for an average of 32.6 days after their departure," the audit said.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2022/03/18/michigan-unemployment-agency-audit-staff-background-checks/7081379001/