UIPL 11-26.pdf

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION

ADVISORY SYSTEM

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Washington, D.C. 20210

CLASSIFICATION

Unemployment Insurance

CO

RRESPONDENCE SYMBOL

OUI/DPM

DA

TE

RESCISSIONS

NONE

EXPIRATION DATE

June 30, 2027

ADVISORY:

TO:

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 11-26

STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM: HENRY MACK, ED.D.

Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT: Funding to Support Ongoing Administration of Certain Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Programs for the Period of January 1, 2026, through

June 30, 2027

1. Purpose. This Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) announces the availability of funding to pay for the ongoing costs of administering the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and

Economic Security (CARES) Act Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic

Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Mixed Earners Unemployment

Compensation (MEUC), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) programs. While these temporary programs have expired, State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) continue to perform work to combat fraud and activities such as reconciling accounts and reports, establishing and recovering overpayments, retaining all applicable data, and processing any workload backlogs.

2. Action Requested. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (Department) Employment and Training

Administration (ETA) requests that SWA Administrators:

a. Review the four funding opportunities as described in Section 4 of this UIPL for PUA, PEUC, MEUC, and FPUC programs to determine if the SWA will apply for some or all administrative funding opportunities. Notify the appropriate regional office of any questions or concerns as soon as possible after receiving this UIPL.

b. Submit a complete application package for each program for which the SWA is requesting administrative funding. The complete application package must include:

• SF-424 (Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Approval No. 4040-0004);

• SF-424A (OMB Approval No. 4040-0006);

• UI Grant Application for Administrative Funding (Attachment III to this UIPL); and

• Budget Narrative (Attachment V to this UIPL).

The SF-424 and SF-424A forms must be submitted to www.grants.gov by June 18, 2026. The SF-424, the SF-424A, and the complete application package must also be

May 18, 2026 submitted to the Department via email at eta-ui-inquiries@dol.gov, with a copy to the appropriate Regional Office by June 18 2026.

c. Notify the appropriate Regional Office of any questions or concerns as soon as possible after receiving this UIPL.

d. Failure to submit the complete package to the Department by the deadline may result in the SWA not receiving funding under the opportunity.

3. Summary and Background.

a. Summary – The UI program was designed to provide temporary support for unemployed and insured American workers when they lose their job and to serve as an economic stabilizer during periods of economic disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, as noted in a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the increased significance of the UI system during the pandemic drew attention to its vulnerabilities and susceptibility to fraud.1 Although the temporary pandemic UI-related programs have expired, there remains work to be done to reconcile and recover any misuse of state and federal funds.

The agreement that a SWA signed with the Department to administer PUA, PEUC, MEUC, and FPUC remains in effect with respect to weeks of unemployment ending on or before the date of termination or expiration (whichever comes first) until all issues relating to those weeks are resolved (see UIPL No. 14-21, Change 1). ETA continues, consistent with the statute, to make funds available for any identified reimbursements necessary for administration of the CARES Act programs. This UIPL provides administrative funding opportunities for SWAs to continue necessary activities for administration of the PUA, PEUC, MEUC, and FPUC programs.

• PUA: Section 4.a. of this UIPL;

• PEUC: Section 4.b. of this UIPL;

• MEUC: Section 4.c. of this UIPL; and

• FPUC: Section 4.d. of this UIPL.

As noted in Section 4.c. of UIPL No. 01-25, and reflecting the updated order issued in the

OMB Report to the Congress on the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control

Act (BBEDCA) 251A Sequestration for FY 2026, published on May 30, 2025, the amounts awarded for these administrative grant funds are subject to sequestration.

Attachment I to this UIPL provides the amount of pandemic overpayments established and recovered by state. ETA expects all SWAs to apply for the administrative funding under this UIPL to support remaining activities from these expired programs.

1 GAO-23-106696, Unemployment Insurance: Estimated Amount of Fraud during Pandemic Likely Between $100

Billion and $135 Billion, issued September 2023, https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-106696.

mailto:eta-ui-inquiries@dol.gov https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-106696

b. Background – The CARES Act (Public Law (Pub. L.) 116-136) was enacted on March

27, 2020, and created new temporary programs, including PUA, FPUC, and PEUC. See

UIPL No. 14-20. The Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020

(Continued Assistance Act) (Pub. L. 116-260) was enacted on December 27, 2020, amended and extended the CARES Act programs, and created the temporary MEUC program. See UIPL No. 09-21. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) (Pub. L.

117-2) was enacted on March 11, 2021, and further amended and extended the CARES

Act programs. See UIPL No. 14-21.

All SWAs signed the “Agreement Implementing the Relief for Workers Affected by

Coronavirus Act” (Agreement) with the Secretary in March 2020 to administer the PUA, FPUC, and PEUC programs. The Agreement incorporates amendments to the CARES

Act made by the Continued Assistance Act and ARPA, and many SWAs also signed amendments to the Agreement to administer the MEUC program following its creation by the Continued Assistance Act. The CARES Act programs expired on September 6, 2021, though some SWAs chose to end participation in some or all of these programs earlier.

The agreement to administer the PUA, FPUC, PEUC, and MEUC programs remains in effect with respect to weeks of unemployment ending on or before the date of termination or expiration (whichever comes first) until all issues relating to those weeks are resolved.

These programs expired on September 6, 2021, and ETA anticipates that SWAs will continue to incur diminishing residual administrative costs for activities such as ongoing program integrity efforts, including workload backlogs; ongoing data integrity, retention, and reporting activities; and audit-related and oversight-related activities. (See UIPL No.

14-21, Change 1, and UIPL No. 09-25).

The period of performance for most of the original CARES Act administrative grants expired on June 30, 2024, though some SWAs were issued extensions through December

31, 2025. The Department recognized that as funding-generating workload activities associated with these programs (noted in Section 4.b. of UIPL No. 28-20, Change 4) continued to decline, workload-generated administrative funding was not sufficient to pay for the costs associated with all administrative activities of these expired programs.

Therefore, the Department is making additional funding opportunities available to SWAs to pay for these additional costs.

On August 26, 2024, ETA published UIPL No. 17-24 providing SWAs with an opportunity to apply for additional administrative funding for PUA, PEUC, and FPUC in addition to funding to pay for costs associated with reconciliation for the temporary funding for the first compensable week for Unemployment Insurance programs with either a waived waiting week or no waiting week available under Section 2105 of the

CARES Act. The period of performance for many of these grants was initially set to expire on September 30, 2025, and was extended, as appropriate, to December 31, 2025.

On November 6, 2024, ETA published UIPL No. 02-25 providing SWAs with an opportunity to apply for ongoing workload based administrative funding for PUA, PEUC, FPUC, and MEUC. The period of performance for these grants expired on December 31, 2025.

4. Guidance. SWAs may apply for any or all of the administrative funding opportunities described below. SWAs may submit only one application per program. Funding provided through the following grant opportunities replaces administrative funding awarded periodically for these programs based on SWA reported workload activity. As a result, SWAs are strongly encouraged to ensure their requests are adequate to support their expected administrative costs for the entire period of performance for each grant.

Attachment I to this UIPL provides the amount of pandemic overpayments established and recovered by state. ETA expects all SWAs to apply for the administrative funding under this

UIPL to support remaining activities from these expired programs.

These grants are subject to the requirements of 2 CFR Parts 200 and 2900, Uniform

Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.

See the 2026 DOL Standard Terms and Conditions that are available for reference here:

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants/resources.

SWAs are reminded that activities associated with each of the referenced CARES Act programs must be funded by the appropriate program’s funding, and that costs must be appropriately allocated to ensure proper application of the funding to each program.2

Additionally, SWAs are reminded that within the context of administering these CARES Act programs, they must disclose all information to the Department’s Office of Inspector General

(DOL-OIG) for the purposes of investigating fraud and for audit of unemployment programs

(see Section 5 of UIPL No. 04-17, Change 1).

a. PUA: The Department is making administrative funding available to SWAs in support of ongoing PUA program activities.

i. Amounts per SWA. Any SWA seeking PUA funding under this UIPL must submit a full grant application (as described in section 4.a.v of this UIPL) explaining the need for funding and the specific amount requested.

ii. Application of Sequestration. As noted in Section 4.c. of UIPL 01-25 and reflecting the updated order issued in the OMB Report to the Congress on the BBEDCA 251A

Sequestration for FY 2026, the amounts awarded for these administrative grant funds are subject to sequestration. As a result, the final amounts awarded to SWAs will reflect a 5.7 percent sequestration reduction from the total amount of the grant award.

2 To properly allocate costs in accordance with the Department’s regulations for determining allowable costs under a grant to a SWA, the Department follows the cost principles codified in federal regulations and further described in

Departmental guidance (See 2 C.F.R. Part 200, Subpart E – Cost Principles; and also Training and Employment

Guidance Letter (TEGL) Nos. 06-02, 06-05, and 15-09). A cost allocation plan must be developed and approved by the SWA’s cognizant agency.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/grants/resources https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-01-25

iii. Allowable Use of Funds. Section 2102(f) of the CARES Act, as amended, provides for the payment of additional administrative expenses, as determined by the

Secretary, incurred by SWAs to operate the PUA program pursuant to the Agreement.

Under this funding opportunity, SWAs are permitted to use this funding for certain ongoing administrative costs associated with the PUA program. The PUA program expired on September 6, 2021, and ETA anticipates that SWAs will continue to incur diminishing residual administrative costs, which include costs for the following activities:

• Program integrity activities and efforts to combat fraud: This includes addressing lingering appeals, workload backlogs, and/or claims activity resulting from court rulings, or findings from ETA monitoring associated with the proper payment of benefits; efforts to detect, establish, and recover overpayments including the reconciliation and return of recovered funds; and other claim or payment resolution actions. These activities may include the pursuit of civil and/or criminal investigations related to fraudulent claims and overpayment collection activities associated with PUA benefits.

• Data integrity, retention, and reporting activities: This includes efforts to address outstanding PUA reporting issues and funding reconciliation involving

PUA benefits. Particular attention should be paid to reporting involving overpayment detection and recovery efforts, financial reporting activity associated with the ETA 2112 UI Financial Transaction Summary Report, and other funding reconciliation efforts involving PUA benefits. This also includes state expenses for retaining all PUA data in correspondence with UIPL No. 09-25.

• Audit-related and oversight-related activities: These activities include time and resources dedicated to coordinating, investigating, and responding to various requests from the OIG, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and SWA auditors, and responding to and addressing ETA regional and/or national office outreach or findings.

• Other Proposed Administrative Costs: SWAs may propose other administrative cost items not expressly listed in this UIPL. Any such proposals must include sufficient justification for the Department to assess whether the request represents a reasonable, necessary, and allowable administrative cost under applicable federal cost principles. The Department will evaluate these submissions on a case‑by‑case basis. A placeholder has been included in the UI Grant Application

(Attachment III) to allow states to identify and request consideration of these additional cost items.

iv. Period of Performance. Grant funds may only be used for the costs of allowable activities which are incurred no earlier than the beginning of the calendar quarter preceding the calendar quarter of the award issuance. Therefore, the period of performance for this award begins on January 1, 2026, and ends on June 30, 2027, unless otherwise specified or modified.

v. Application Instructions. SWAs may submit only one application for this grant opportunity. Funding provided through this grant opportunity replaces previous PUA administrative funding awarded periodically based on workload counts reported in the ETA 902P PUA Program Report. As a result, SWAs are strongly encouraged to ensure their request is sufficient to pay for their expected administrative costs for the entire period of performance for this grant.

To apply for PUA funding provided by this opportunity, SWAs must complete both Action A and Action B described below by June 18, 2026. Failure to submit by this deadline may result in the SWA not receiving funding under this opportunity.

Action A: Submit the following two documents to www.grants.gov:

1. SF-424 (OMB Approval No. 4040-0004) available through grants.gov at the following URL https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424_4_0-

V4.0.pdf for the total amount of funding being requested. Attachment II to this

UIPL provides additional information on completing the SF-424. SWAs must input the UIPL number and program name as “UIPL No. 11-26 PUA” in

Section 12 of the SF424 form. SWA applications will be reviewed and funding awarded periodically throughout the grant application period, so SWAs are encouraged to apply before the deadline for earlier access to funding.

2. SF-424A (OMB Approval No. 4040-0006) available through grants.gov at the following URL https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-

V1.0.pdf. SWAs must input the UIPL number and program name as “UIPL No. 11-26 PUA” in Section A.1.a of the SF-424A form.

Action B: Submit the following four items to Department via email at eta-ui-inquiries@dol.gov, with a copy sent to the appropriate Regional Office. Reference

Attachments II, III, and V to this UIPL.

1. A copy of the SWA’s SF-424

2. A copy of the SWA’s SF-424A

3. UI Grant Application for Additional Administrative Funding to Support

SWA’s Ongoing CARES Act Activities (Attachment III to this UIPL) with details of the activities outlined in Section 4.a.iii of this UIPL.

4. Budget Narrative - A detailed budget narrative is mandatory and will aid the administrative review and processing of a recommended award. Amounts included in a budget and budget narrative are estimates; in the event of an award, payments will be based on actual expenditures. The information in the budget narrative must correspond to Section B of the SF-424A. Attachment V https://www.grants.gov/ https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424_4_0-V4.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424_4_0-V4.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf.

to this UIPL provides additional information on completing the Budget

Narrative.

vi. Reporting Requirements. SWAs must provide a Quarterly Financial Report (ETA

9130) containing updates on the use of these funds. SWAs must provide narrative progress reporting through the Quarterly Progress Report (ETA 9178). ETA will use the information provided in these reports to monitor SWA activities and ensure funding use is consistent with the allowable use of funding outlined in this UIPL. See

Attachment IV for additional information on reporting requirements for the ETA

9130 report. See Attachment VI for additional information on reporting requirements for the ETA 9178 report. The ETA 9130 report and the ETA 9178 report will be required for the remainder of the period of performance after the grant is awarded.

b. PEUC: The Department is making administrative funding available to SWAs in support of ongoing PEUC program activities.

i. Amounts per SWA. Any SWA seeking PEUC funding under this UIPL must submit a full grant application (as described in section 4.b.v of this UIPL) explaining the need for funding and the specific amount requested.

ii. Application of Sequestration. As noted in Section 4.c. of UIPL 01-25 and reflecting the updated order issued in the OMB Report to the Congress on the BBEDCA 251A

Sequestration for FY 2026, the amounts awarded for these administrative grant funds are subject to sequestration. As a result, the final amounts awarded to SWAs will reflect a 5.7 percent sequestration reduction from the total amount of the grant award.

iii. Allowable Use of Funds. Section 2107(d) of the CARES Act, as amended, provides for the payment of additional administrative expenses, as determined by the

Secretary, incurred by SWAs to operate the PEUC program pursuant to the

Agreement. Under this funding opportunity, SWAs are permitted to use this funding for certain ongoing administrative costs associated with the PEUC program. The

PEUC program expired on September 6, 2021, and ETA anticipates that SWAs will continue to incur diminishing residual administrative costs, which include costs for the following activities:

• Program integrity activities and efforts to combat fraud: This includes addressing lingering appeals, workload backlogs, and/or claims activity resulting from court rulings, or findings from ETA monitoring associated with the proper payment of benefits; efforts to detect, establish, and recover overpayments including the reconciliation and return of recovered funds; and other claim or payment resolution actions. These activities may include the pursuit of civil and/or criminal investigations related to fraudulent claims and overpayment collection activities associated with PEUC benefits.

• Data integrity, retention, and reporting activities: This includes efforts to address outstanding PEUC reporting issues and funding reconciliation involving

PEUC benefits. Particular attention should be paid to reporting involving overpayment detection and recovery efforts, financial reporting activity associated with the ETA 2112 UI Financial Transaction Summary Report, and other funding reconciliation efforts involving PEUC benefits. This also includes state expenses for retaining all PEUC data in correspondence with UIPL No. 09-25.

• Audit-related and oversight-related activities: These activities include time and resources dedicated to coordinating, investigating, and responding to various requests from the OIG, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and SWA auditors, and responding to and addressing ETA regional and/or national office outreach or findings.

• Other Proposed Administrative Costs: SWAs may propose other administrative cost items not expressly listed in this UIPL. Any such proposals must include sufficient justification for the Department to assess whether the request represents a reasonable, necessary, and allowable administrative cost under applicable federal cost principles. The Department will evaluate these submissions on a case‑by‑case basis. A placeholder has been included in the UI Grant Application

(Attachment III) to allow states to identify and request consideration of these additional cost items.

iv. Period of Performance. Grant funds may only be used for the costs of allowable activities which are incurred no earlier than the beginning of the calendar quarter preceding the calendar quarter of the award issuance. Therefore, the period of performance for this award begins on January 1, 2026, and ends on June 30, 2027, unless otherwise specified or modified.

v. Application Instructions. SWAs may submit only one application for this grant opportunity. Funding provided through this grant opportunity replaces PEUC administrative funding awarded periodically based on workload counts reported in the ETA 5159 Claims and Payment Activities PEUC Report. As a result, SWAs are strongly encouraged to ensure their request is sufficient to pay for their expected administrative costs for the entire period of performance for this grant.

To apply for PEUC funding provided by this opportunity, SWAs must complete both Action A and Action B described below by June 18, 2026. Failure to submit by this deadline may result in the SWA not receiving funding under this opportunity.

Action A: Submit the following two documents to www.grants.gov:

1. SF-424 (OMB Approval No. 4040-0004) available through grants.gov at the following URL https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-

V4.0.pdf for the total amount of funding being requested. Attachment II to this

UIPL provides additional information on completing the SF-424. SWAs must input the UIPL number and program name as “UIPL No. 11-26 PEUC” in

Section 12 of the SF424 form. SWA applications will be reviewed https://www.grants.gov/ https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-V4.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-V4.0.pdf and funding awarded periodically throughout the grant application period, so

SWAs are encouraged to apply before the deadline for earlier access to funding.

2. SF-424A (OMB Approval No. 4040-0006) available through grants.gov at the following URL https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-

V1.0.pdf. SWAs must input the UIPL number and program name as “UIPL No. 11-26 PEUC” in Section A.1.a of the SF-424A form.

Action B: Submit the following four items to Department via email at eta-ui-inquiries@dol.gov, with a copy sent to the appropriate Regional Office. Reference

Attachments II, III, and V to this UIPL.

1. A copy of the SWA’s SF-424.

2. A copy of the SWA’s SF-424A.

3. UI Grant Application for Additional Administrative Funding to Support

SWA’s Ongoing CARES Act Activities (Attachment III to this UIPL) with details of the activities outlined in Section 4.b.iii of this UIPL.

4. Budget Narrative - A detailed budget narrative is mandatory and will aid the administrative review and processing of a recommended award. Amounts included in a budget and budget narrative are estimates; in the event of an award, payments will be based on actual expenditures. The information in the budget narrative must correspond to Section B of the SF-424A form.

Attachment V to this UIPL provides additional information on completing the

Budget Narrative.

vi. Reporting Requirements. SWAs must provide a Quarterly Financial Report (ETA

9130) containing updates on the use of these funds. SWAs must provide narrative progress reporting through the Quarterly Progress Report (ETA 9178). ETA will use the information provided in these reports to monitor SWA activities and ensure funding use is consistent with the allowable use of funding outlined in this UIPL. See

Attachment IV for additional information on reporting requirements for the ETA

9130 report. See Attachment VI for additional information on reporting requirements for the ETA 9178 report. The ETA 9130 report and the ETA 9178 report will be required for the remainder of the period of performance after the grant is awarded.

c. MEUC: The Department is making administrative funding available to SWAs in support of ongoing MEUC program activities.

i. Amounts per SWA. Any SWA seeking MEUC funding under this UIPL must submit a full grant application (as described in section 4.c.v of this UIPL) explaining the need for funding and the specific amount requested.

https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf

ii. Application of Sequestration. As noted in Section 4.c. of UIPL 01-25 and reflecting the updated order issued in the OMB Report to the Congress on the BBEDCA 251A

Sequestration for FY 2026, the amounts awarded for these administrative grant funds are subject to sequestration. As a result, the final amounts awarded to SWAs will reflect a 5.7 percent sequestration reduction from the total amount of the grant award.

iii. Allowable Use of Funds. Section 2104(d) of the CARES Act, as amended, provides for the payment of additional administrative expenses, as determined by the

Secretary, incurred by SWAs to operate the MEUC program pursuant to the

Agreement. Under this funding opportunity, SWAs are permitted to use this funding for ongoing administrative costs associated with the MEUC program. The MEUC program expired on September 6, 2021, and ETA anticipates that SWAs will continue to incur diminishing residual administrative costs, which include costs for the following activities:

• Program integrity activities and efforts to combat fraud: This includes addressing lingering appeals, workload backlogs, and/or claims activity resulting from court rulings, or findings from ETA monitoring associated with the proper payment of benefits; efforts to detect, establish, and recover overpayments including the reconciliation and return of recovered funds; and other claim or payment resolution actions. These activities may include the pursuit of civil and/or criminal investigations related to fraudulent claims and overpayment collection activities associated with MEUC benefits.

• Data integrity, retention, and reporting activities: This includes efforts to address outstanding MEUC reporting issues and funding reconciliation involving

MEUC benefits. Particular attention should be paid to reporting involving overpayment detection and recovery efforts, financial reporting activity associated with the ETA 2112 UI Financial Transaction Summary Report, and other funding reconciliation efforts involving MEUC benefits. This also includes state expenses for retaining all MEUC data in correspondence with UIPL No. 09-25.

• Audit-related and oversight-related activities: These activities include time and resources dedicated to coordinating, investigating, and responding to various requests from the OIG, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and SWA auditors, and responding to and addressing ETA regional and/or national office outreach or findings.

• Other Proposed Administrative Costs: SWAs may propose other administrative cost items not expressly listed in this UIPL. Any such proposals must include sufficient justification for the Department to assess whether the request represents a reasonable, necessary, and allowable administrative cost under applicable federal cost principles. The Department will evaluate these submissions on a case‑by‑case basis. A placeholder has been included in the UI Grant Application

(Attachment III) to allow states to identify and request consideration of these additional cost items.

iv. Period of Performance. Grant funds may only be used for the costs of allowable activities which are incurred no earlier than the beginning of the calendar quarter preceding the calendar quarter of the award issuance. Therefore, the period of performance for this award begins on January 1, 2026, and ends on June 30, 2027, unless otherwise specified or modified.

v. Application Instructions. SWAs may submit only one application for this grant opportunity. Funding provided through this grant opportunity replaces MEUC administrative funding awarded periodically based on workload counts reported in the ETA 902M MEUC Activities Report. As a result, SWAs are strongly encouraged to ensure their request is sufficient to pay for their expected administrative costs for the entire period of performance for this grant.

To apply for MEUC funding provided by this opportunity, SWAs must complete both Action A and Action B described below by June 18, 2026. Failure to submit by this deadline may result in the SWA not receiving funding under this opportunity.

Action A: Submit the following two documents to www.grants.gov:

1. SF-424 (OMB Approval No. 4040-0004) available through grants.gov at the following URL https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-

V4.0.pdf for the total amount of funding being requested. Attachment II to this

UIPL provides additional information on completing the SF-424. SWAs must input the UIPL number and program name as “UIPL No. 11-26 MEUC” in

Section 12 of the SF424 form. SWA applications will be reviewed and funding awarded periodically throughout the grant application period, so SWAs are encouraged to apply before the deadline for earlier access to funding.

2. SF-424A (OMB Approval No. 4040-0006) available through grants.gov at the following URL https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-

V1.0.pdf. SWAs must input the UIPL number and program name as “UIPL No. 11-26 MEUC” in Section A.1.a of the SF-424A form.

Action B: Submit the following four items to Department via email at eta-ui-inquiries@dol.gov, with a copy sent to the appropriate Regional Office. Reference

Attachments II, III, and V to this UIPL.

1. A copy of the SWA’s SF-424.

2. A copy of the SWA’s SF-424A.

3. UI Grant Application for Additional Administrative Funding to Support

SWA’s Ongoing CARES Act Activities (Attachment III to this UIPL) with details of the activities outlined in Section 4.c.iii of this UIPL.

https://www.grants.gov/ https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-V4.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-V4.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf

4. Budget Narrative - A thorough budget narrative is mandatory and will aid the administrative review and processing of a recommended award. Amounts included in a budget and budget narrative are estimates; in the event of an award, payments will be based on actual expenditures. The information in the budget narrative must correspond to Section B of the SF-424A form.

Attachment V to this UIPL provides additional information on completing the

Budget Narrative.

vi. Reporting Requirements. SWAs must provide a Quarterly Financial Report (ETA

9130) containing updates on the use of these funds. SWAs must provide narrative progress reporting through the Quarterly Progress Report (ETA 9178). ETA will use the information provided in these reports to monitor SWA activities and ensure funding use is consistent with the allowable use of funding outlined in this UIPL. See

Attachment IV for additional information on reporting requirements for the ETA

9130 report. See Attachment VI for additional information on reporting requirements for the ETA 9178 report. The ETA 9130 report and the ETA 9178 report will be required for the remainder of the period of performance after the grant is awarded.

d. FPUC: The Department is making administrative funding available to SWAs in support of ongoing FPUC program activities.

i. Amounts per SWA. Any SWA seeking FPUC funding under this UIPL must submit a full grant application (as described in section 4.d.v of this UIPL) explaining the need for funding and the specific amount requested.

ii. Application of Sequestration. As noted in Section 4.c. of UIPL 01-25 and reflecting the updated order issued in the OMB Report to the Congress on the BBEDCA 251A

Sequestration for FY 2026, the amounts awarded for these administrative grant funds are subject to sequestration. As a result, the final amounts awarded to SWAs will reflect a 5.7 percent sequestration reduction from the total amount of the grant award.

iii. Allowable Use of Funds. Section 2104(d) of the CARES Act, as amended, provides for the payment of administrative expenses, as determined by the Secretary, incurred by SWAs to operate the FPUC program pursuant to the Agreement. Unlike other

CARES Act programs discussed in this UIPL, administrative costs for operating the

FPUC program are not provided based on workload activity counts. The Department recognizes that much of the underlying cost of administering the FPUC program is tied to the administration of the underlying benefit program. Thus, SWAs are reminded that only additional administrative costs, which are either partially or wholly a result of the administration of the FPUC program, may be paid for with these grant funds. Under this funding opportunity, SWAs are permitted to use this funding only for FPUC administrative costs and must use an approved allocation methodology to ensure funding is properly allocated to the appropriate program. The

FPUC program expired on September 6, 2021, and ETA anticipates that SWAs will continue to incur diminishing residual administrative costs, which include costs for the following activities:

• Program integrity activities and efforts to combat fraud: This includes addressing lingering appeals, workload backlogs, and/or claims activity resulting from court rulings, or findings from ETA monitoring associated with the proper payment of benefits; efforts to detect, establish, and recover overpayments including the reconciliation and return of recovered funds; and other claim or payment resolution actions. These activities may include the pursuit of civil and/or criminal investigations related to fraudulent claims and overpayment collection activities associated with FPUC benefits.

• Data integrity, retention, and reporting activities: This includes efforts to address outstanding FPUC reporting issues and funding reconciliation involving

FPUC benefits. Particular attention should be paid to reporting involving overpayment detection and recovery efforts, financial reporting activity associated with the ETA 2112 UI Financial Transaction Summary Report, and other funding reconciliation efforts involving FPUC benefits. This also includes state expenses for retaining all FPUC data in correspondence with UIPL No. 09-25.

• Audit-related and oversight-related activities: These activities include time and resources dedicated to coordinating, investigating, and responding to various requests from the OIG, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and SWA auditors, and responding to and addressing ETA regional and/or national office outreach or findings.

• Other Proposed Administrative Costs: SWAs may propose other administrative cost items not expressly listed in this UIPL. Any such proposals must include sufficient justification for the Department to assess whether the request represents a reasonable, necessary, and allowable administrative cost under applicable federal cost principles. The Department will evaluate these submissions on a case‑by‑case basis. A placeholder has been included in the UI Grant Application

(Attachment III) to allow states to identify and request consideration of these additional cost items.

iv. Period of Performance. Grant funds may only be used for the costs of allowable activities which are incurred no earlier than the beginning of the calendar quarter preceding the calendar quarter of the award issuance. Therefore, the period of performance for this award begins on January 1, 2026, and ends on June 30, 2027, unless otherwise specified or modified.

v. Application Instructions. SWAs may submit only one application for this grant opportunity. As a result, SWAs are strongly encouraged to ensure their request is sufficient to pay for their expected administrative costs for the entire period of performance for this grant.

To apply for FPUC funding provided by this opportunity, SWAs must complete both Action A and Action B described below by June 18, 2026. Failure to submit by this deadline may result in the SWA not receiving funding under this opportunity.

Action A: Submit the following two documents to www.grants.gov:

1. SF-424 (OMB Approval No. 4040-0004) available through grants.gov at the following URL https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-

V4.0.pdf for the total amount of funding being requested. Attachment II to this

UIPL provides additional information on completing the SF-424. SWAs must input the UIPL number and program name as “UIPL No. 11-26 FPUC” in

Section 12 of the SF-424 form. SWA applications will be reviewed and funding awarded periodically throughout the grant application period, so SWAs are encouraged to apply before the deadline for earlier access to funding.

2. SF-424A (OMB Approval No. 4040-0006) available through grants.gov at the following URL https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-

V1.0.pdf. SWAs must input the UIPL number and program name as “UIPL No. 11-26 FPUC” in Section A.1.a of the SF-424A form.

Action B: Submit the following four items to Department via email at eta-ui-inquiries@dol.gov, with a copy sent to the appropriate Regional Office. Reference

Attachments II, III, and V to this UIPL.

1. A copy of the SWA’s SF-424.

2. A copy of the SWA’s SF-424A.

3. UI Grant Application for Additional Administrative Funding to Support

SWA’s Ongoing CARES Act Activities (Attachment III to this UIPL) with details of the activities outlined in Section 4.d.iii of this UIPL.

4. Budget Narrative - A thorough budget narrative is mandatory and will aid the administrative review and processing of a recommended award. Amounts included in a budget and budget narrative are estimates; in the event of an award, payments will be based on actual expenditures. The information in the budget narrative must correspond to Section B of the SF-424A form.

Attachment V to this UIPL provides additional information on completing the

Budget Narrative.

vi. Reporting Requirements. SWAs must provide a Quarterly Financial Report (ETA

9130) containing updates on the use of these funds. SWAs must provide narrative progress reporting through the Quarterly Progress Report (ETA 9178). ETA will use the information provided in these reports to monitor SWA activities and ensure funding use is consistent with the allowable use of funding outlined in this UIPL. See https://www.grants.gov/ https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf.

https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424A-V1.0.pdf.

Attachment IV for additional information on reporting requirements for the ETA

9130 report. See Attachment VI for additional information on reporting requirements for the ETA 9178 report. The ETA 9130 report and the ETA 9178 report will be required for the remainder of the period of performance after the grant is awarded.

5. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate Regional Office.

6. References.

• American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), including Title IX, Subtitle A, Crisis

Support for Unemployed Workers (Pub. L. 117-2);

• Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, including Division N, Title II, Subtitle A, the

Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 116-260);

• Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Title II, Subtitle A –

Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (Pub. L. 116-136);

• Section 303 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §503);

• 2 C.F.R. Parts 200 and 2900, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards;

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Report to the Congress on the BBEDCA

251A Sequestration for Fiscal Year 2026, dated May 30, 2025;

• UIPL No. 09-25, New Instructions for Data Retention Requirements Concerning the

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Unemployment

Compensation (UC) Programs, issued January 7, 2025, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-09-25;

• UIPL No. 02-25, Instructions to States for Ongoing Workload-Based Administrative

Funding for the Federal Benefit Programs Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and

Economic Security (CARES) Act, as amended, issued November 6, 2024, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-02-25;

• UIPL No. 01-25, Implementation of Sequestration under the Budget Control Act of

2011 (BCA) for mandatory Unemployment Insurance (UI) Programs for Fiscal Year

(FY) 2025, issued October 3, 2024, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl01-25;

• UIPL No. 17-24, Supplemental Budget Request (SBR) Opportunity for Additional

Administrative Funding to Support States’ Ongoing Administrative Activities

Associated with Certain Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)

Act Unemployment Compensation (UC) Programs, issued August 26, 2024, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-17-24;

• UIPL No. 14-21, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) - Key Unemployment

Insurance (UI) Provisions, issued March 15, 2021, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-programletter-no-14-21 and its Change 1;

• UIPL No. 09-21, Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020

(Continued Assistance Act) - Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance (UI)

Provisions, issued December 30, 2020, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-programletter-no-09-21;

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-09-25 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-02-25 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-01-25 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-17-24 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-14-21 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-14-21 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-09-21 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-09-21

• UIPL No. 28-20, Change 4, Support for States to Resolve Outstanding Items from the

Expired Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

Unemployment Compensation (UC) Programs, Including Additional Funding to

Assist States with Reporting and Detection and Recovery of Overpayments, issued

July 22, 2022, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-no-28-20-change-4;

• UIPL No. 17-20, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of

2020 – Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) Program

Operating, Financial, and Reporting Instructions, issued April 10, 2020, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-programletter-no-17-20 and its Changes;

• UIPL No. 16-20, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of

2020 - Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program Operating, Financial, and Reporting Instructions, issued April 5, 2020, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-programletter-no-16-20 and its Changes;

• UIPL No. 15-20, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of

2020 - Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program

Operating, Financial, and Reporting Instructions, issued April 4, 2020, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-programletter-no-15-20 and its Changes;

• UIPL No. 14-20, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of

2020 - Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance (UI) Provisions and Guidance

Regarding Temporary Emergency State Staffing Flexibility, issued April 2, 2020, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-14-20;

• UIPL No. 04-17, Change 1, Requirement for States to Refer Allegations of

Unemployment Compensation (UC) Fraud, Waste, Abuse, Mismanagement, or

Misconduct to the Department of Labor's (Department) Office of Inspector General's

(DOL-OIG) and to Disclose Information Related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and

Economic Security (CARES) Act to DOL-OIG for Purposes of UC Fraud

Investigation and Audits, issued August 3, 2021, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-04-17-change-1; and

• Agreement Implementing the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act

(between State and Secretary of Labor), signed March 2020.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-no-28-20-change-4 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-17-20 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-17-20 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-16-20 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-16-20 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-15-20 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-15-20 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-14-20 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-14-20 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-04-17-change-1 https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/unemployment-insurance-program-letter-no-04-17-change-1

7. Attachment(s).

• Attachment I: Pandemic Overpayments Established and Recovered by State

• Attachment II: Additional Guidance for Completing the SF-424.

• Attachment III: UI Grant Application (for each program where the SWA is requesting funding).

• Attachment IV: ETA 9130 Narrative Reporting Requirements.

• Attachment V: Additional Guidance for Completing the Budget Narrative (for each program where the SWA is requesting funding).

• Attachment VI: Instructions for Completing the Quarterly Narrative Progress Report

(ETA 9178).

Attachment I

I-1

Pandemic Overpayments Established and Recovered by State

The following tables reflect the amount of overpayments established and recovered as reported by each state for the FPUC, PUA, and PEUC programs. This data reflects state reports submitted as of April 26, 2026.3 USDOL is actively engaged with states to reconcile financial reporting, including the reporting of overpayment detection and recoveries for the CARES Act programs, which may impact final reported amounts.

Program Total Benefits Paid Total Overpayments

Established

Total Overpayments

Recovered

FPUC $443.62 billion $33.73 billion $2.65 billion

PUA $131.75 billion $25.26 billion $2.24 billion

PEUC $85.25 billion $3.57 billion $0.60 billion

Recovery of Established Overpayments. The following information is discussed in more detail in UIPL No. 20-21, Change 1.

• Required Recovery Activities. States must use the same recovery methods for the CARES

Act UI programs as are required for the regular UI program, including participation in the

Treasury Offset Program (TOP), as well as benefit offsets (including cross-program offsets under the Cross Program Offset Recovery Agreement (CPORA) and interstate reciprocal offsets under the Interstate Reciprocal Offset Recovery Arrangement (IRORA)).

Specific to overpayments in the PEUC, MEUC, and FPUC programs, benefit offsets are limited to the three-year period after the date such individuals received the payment. The state must collect CARES Act UI program overpayments in accordance with the same procedures as apply to the recovery of overpayments of regular UC – except that states do not have the authority to conduct benefit offsets after this three-year period expires. This same three-year limitation does not apply to overpayments under the PUA program.

• Strongly Recommended Recovery Activities. The Department strongly encourages states to use additional recovery methods, where allowed by state law, both during and after the three-year period described above. This includes negotiating repayment plans with individuals, accepting repayments through various methods, and other activities such as state income tax refund offset, wage garnishment, civil actions, property liens, and collection agency referrals.

Other Considerations Regarding State Reports. Note that there are several reasons why a state’s recovery percent may not equal 100 percent at any given point in time.

• The data is a point-in-time reference. Each report represents activity regarding a specific overpaid amount that was established during the reporting period. Overpayments often are established during one calendar quarter and recovered during a later calendar quarter. As such, it is most appropriate to consider the totality of reports for a CARES Act UI program rather than any specific reporting period.

3 Reference the Data Downloads page at https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/DataDownloads.asp for all raw figures reported by the state.

https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/DataDownloads.asp

I-2

• Reconciliation efforts are underway. Some states may report more amount…