Watchdog Slams DOL Training Office for Poor Jobless Data Access

The US Department of Labor’s independent watchdog said the agency isn’t doing enough to help combat fraud in the unemployment insurance system and is violating federal laws by failing to provide the Inspector General with needed access to state claimant information.

The warning from the Office of the Inspector General is the latest escalation in a regulatory dispute between the department and its internal watchdog that has been percolating since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IG said in a memo to the acting head of the Employment and Training Administration dated Wednesday that the agency’s “lack of sufficient ...