{"id":530,"date":"2026-06-17T23:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530"},"modified":"2026-06-17T23:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:42:08","slug":"trump-is-threatening-state-unemployment-funds-some-states-didnt-get-the-memo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530","title":{"rendered":"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn’t Get the Memo."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The Department of Labor\u2019s historic threat to withhold funding from states\u2019 unemployment insurance programs didn\u2019t quite land with the weight the government apparently intended: Several states told NOTUS they didn\u2019t know much about the Trump administration\u2019s new directive.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump Settles $100 Million Lawsuit Against His Niece<\/a><\/p>\n

The Labor Department announced it sent out a letter Wednesday, signed by acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, telling states that \u201cfor the first time in modern history\u201d \u2014 their emphasis \u2014 the federal government would cut states off from administrative funding if they didn\u2019t do more to address waste, fraud and abuse in their unemployment systems.<\/p>\n

The missive, which name-checked six states run by Democratic governors, including California, New Jersey and New York, but no red states, blamed the Biden administration for allowing \u201cwidespread fraud\u201d in the programs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether states received the message.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Virginia Employment Commission said they couldn\u2019t yet comment on the letter, as \u201cwe are currently trying to determine whether and where the letter was received within the Commonwealth and have not yet reviewed the correspondence directly.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Jersey\u2019s Department of Labor and Workforce Development asked for more information from NOTUS on the directive. \u201cWe don\u2019t have insight on this yet,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The Labor Department didn\u2019t respond to NOTUS\u2019 request for clarification on whether it had actually sent out the warnings on Wednesday, when the agency put out an associated news release.<\/p>\n

The confusion could stem from the fact that the department\u2019s is addressed to state governors, not the state offices that run jobless aid programs.<\/p>\n

Some states did get the memo. Andrea Cyr, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Labor, said the state was \u201caware of the letter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State has implemented several updates since the pandemic to fight fraud and abuse and we continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue criminals and hold perpetrators accountable while continuing to make sure workers receive the benefits to which they are entitled under law efficiently,\u201d Cyr said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has prioritized rooting out \u201cwaste, fraud and abuse\u201d in social services. This latest threat to take away a main source of funding used to operate an unemployment insurance program is unprecedented, and it could affect the distribution of benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a disaster,\u201d said one former high-level executive in a state labor office, who asked for anonymity out of fear the Trump administration would target their state. \u201cI don\u2019t know how states would operate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The jobless aid system did struggle to ward off fraudsters looking to cash in on expanded benefits during COVID-19 pandemic \u2014 the beginning months of which happened during the first Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Quantifying the exact number of benefits doled out to fraudsters during the crisis is difficult, but the Government Accountability Office has pegged $60 billion as a conservative estimate.<\/p>\n

There is no single federal unemployment insurance system. Rather, states run individual programs, following guidelines set by the federal government.<\/p>\n

Read more The U.S. Military\u2019s AI Policy Is Up For Debate<\/a><\/p>\n

The federal government also covers states\u2019 administrative costs through taxes on employers. Most states rely completely on the federal government for the money to operate the program.<\/p>\n

So far, the Labor Department hasn\u2019t told states what they would need to do to prevent that funding being taken away. Wednesday\u2019s letter says that the department will send specific directives in the coming days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are officially putting governors on notice,\u201d Sonderling said in a statement. \u201cThis department is no longer afraid to use every lever available to ensure taxpayer money is protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some see the letter as political bluster until proven otherwise, said the former state-level executive, noting that most states didn\u2019t receive any advanced warning on the coming threat. A spokesperson at Maryland\u2019s Department of Labor noted that Sonderling was praising<\/u><\/span> the state\u2019s anti-fraud work just yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump Administration continues to govern by press release \u2013 blasting notes to the media and providing states with no information while threatening them,\u201d a spokesperson for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told NOTUS. \u201cIf they were serious about protecting taxpayers, they wouldn\u2019t be eliminating resources used to modernize systems and strengthen fraud prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last May, the Labor Department terminated millions in grant funding it had previously given to states to modernize their jobless aid systems. A spokesperson for Pennsylvania\u2019s Department of Labor and Industry said those cuts hit funding that helped states root out fraud.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania was among the states listed in the Labor Department\u2019s letter as having \u201cegregious systemic issues.\u201d The spokesperson rejected the characterization, calling Pennsylvania a \u201cnational leader\u2026 despite USDOL\u2019s sudden and arbitrary termination in May 2025 of vital federal grants used in part to combat fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typically, issues with how states are running their unemployment programs go through a back-and-forth process with the Labor Department\u2019s regional offices to ensure compliance.<\/p>\n

The federal government has the authority to shut off administrative payments to states that aren\u2019t following all of DOL\u2019s rules for how to operate the program, although \u201cit just doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d said Michele Evermore, who worked at Labor during the Biden administration.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s in part because the Labor Department only has the ability to withhold the entirety of this administrative funding, which would cause maximum pain for states.<\/p>\n

The last time a state even came close to losing funding was in the 1970s, even though most states are occasionally out of line with one of the department\u2019s many rules, Evermore said. Many currently aren\u2019t meeting standards for how long a person should have to wait to receive their benefits, for example.<\/p>\n

The department\u2019s letter specifically called out New York and California, but lumped together fraud and other mistakes in the payment process that makes a payment \u201cimproper,\u201d like paperwork errors. Left off the letter was Florida, which ranks No. 2 on a Department of Labor website<\/u><\/span> listing improper payment rates across states.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s Surprise DNI Announcement Leaves Senate Republicans Reeling<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If carried through, states could lapse on unemployment benefit payments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agencies"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn't Get the Memo. - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn't Get the Memo. - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If carried through, states could lapse on unemployment benefit payments.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T23:42:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn’t Get the Memo.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T23:42:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530\"},\"wordCount\":1032,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/119c0c343f777cb7bf466cd30bb113bd-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Agencies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530\",\"name\":\"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn't Get the Memo. - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/119c0c343f777cb7bf466cd30bb113bd-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T23:42:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/119c0c343f777cb7bf466cd30bb113bd-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/119c0c343f777cb7bf466cd30bb113bd-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Governor Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo\\\/Jeff Chiu)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=530#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn’t Get the Memo.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Modern Home Journals\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn't Get the Memo. - Modern Home Journals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn't Get the Memo. - Modern Home Journals","og_description":"If carried through, states could lapse on unemployment benefit payments.","og_url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530","og_site_name":"Modern Home Journals","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T23:42:08+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"headline":"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn’t Get the Memo.","datePublished":"2026-06-17T23:42:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530"},"wordCount":1032,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/119c0c343f777cb7bf466cd30bb113bd-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Agencies"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530","name":"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn't Get the Memo. - Modern Home Journals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/119c0c343f777cb7bf466cd30bb113bd-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-17T23:42:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/119c0c343f777cb7bf466cd30bb113bd-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/119c0c343f777cb7bf466cd30bb113bd-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Governor Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=530#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump Is Threatening State Unemployment Funds. Some States Didn’t Get the Memo."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/","name":"Modern Home Journals","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/modernhomejournals.com"],"url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}