INDIANAPOLIS — Governor Mike Braun announced changes to the work search requirements for unemployment benefits in Indiana, signing an executive order Thursday aimed at enhancing the process for job seekers.
The new directive mandates the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to implement more meaningful work search plans that will be personalized for individual job seekers. Additionally, recipients of unemployment benefits will now be required to meet with DWD representatives sooner in the process.
The order stipulates that job seekers must contact a WorkOne office within the first week of enrollment to initiate their job search plans tailored to individual needs.
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Research from the U.S. Department of Labor indicates that job seekers who engage in such early interactions tend to use unemployment benefits for a shorter duration.
"We are going to go through the whole process, clean up the methodology," Braun said. "Individualize it to the different kinds of individuals that are seeking work; not everyone is going to be in the same category that they are looking for," Braun said following the signing.
DWD is tasked with completing a review of its work search process by the end of September 2025 to ensure these new measures are effectively implemented.
The goal, the governor says, is to promote quicker re-employment among recipients.
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Braun signed a second executive order that requires the DWD to crack down on fraudulent unemployment claims. It comes as the Governor's office estimated $55 million in fraudulent unemployment payments over the past three years.
The order requires the DWD to look at how they can adopt new data cross-referencing tools to ensure that unemployment claims are legitimate and that payments are going to genuinely unemployed individuals.
"Fifty-five million — that's a lot, and if we are doing everything right, using the latest in technology especially, we should hopefully get that down a lot lower," Braun said.
These changes reflect Braun’s commitment to improving accountability in Indiana's unemployment benefits system and to reducing the prevalence of fraudulent claims.
