The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) is partnering with federally certified identity verification provider ID.me to streamline the identity verification process on new unemployment claims.
Individuals filing new unemployment claims on LWC’s HiRE website are briefly redirected to ID.me’s website to create an ID.me account to verify their identity before being allowed to proceed with the claim registration. Users should save the recovery code provided in case they do not complete the verification the first time or need to change devices to complete the process.
The automated ID verification process takes about five minutes to complete for about 85 percent of users. For the others, ID.me offers video chats with trained representatives who assist with the ID verification.
Verifying Your Identity for Unemployment Benefits Video
Guide to setting up your ID.me account
Frequently Asked Questions About ID.me
Individuals who use the ID.me verification when filing their new unemployment claim will have their identity verified much faster, eliminating extra steps in the claim review process. Identity verification for COVID-related unemployment claims is a requirement, per federal regulations.
LWC is planning to expand the ID.me functionality to already existing unemployment claims still pending review for identity verification.
Louisiana is one of a growing number of states using ID.me to combat ID theft and prevent unemployment benefits fraud. Almost 70 percent of the U.S. population is using ID.me for unemployment identity verification. ID.me is also used by a number of federal government agencies, including the Social Security Administration, U.S. Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.