S. 490 117th Congress Senate

Unemployment Insurance Technology Modernization Act of 2021

Official title: A bill to modernize the technology for delivering unemployment compensation, and for other purposes.

Introduced: March 1, 2021 Introduced by: Ron Wyden Democratic · Oregon See on congress.gov

Labor and Employment Administrative remediesBusiness recordsComputer security and identity theftComputers and information technology

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Congressional oversightDepartment of LaborDisability and paralysisEmployment taxesExecutive agency funding and structureForeign language and bilingual programsGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsIntergovernmental relationsPublic contracts and procurementRight of privacyState and local government operationsTax administration and collection, taxpayersTechnology assessmentUnemploymentWages and earnings

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Mar 1, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Mar 1, 2021

Introduced in Senate

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Latest action March 1, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Unemployment Insurance Technology Modernization Act of 2021

This bill requires the Department of Labor to study and report on the technology needs of federal and state unemployment compensation programs. Based on this study, Labor must develop, operate, and maintain a modular set of technology capabilities to modernize the delivery of unemployment compensation.

Before the deployment of the technology capabilities to all states, Labor must select at least four states to participate in a pilot program to test the technology capabilities and demonstrate that they meet requirements.

The bill establishes accessibility requirements for filing online unemployment compensation claims. In addition, it prohibits the technology capabilities from relying solely on a high-risk automated decision system to (1) deny a claim for unemployment compensation, (2) reduce the amount of unemployment compensation for which a claimant is eligible, or (3) deny a claimant's right to appeal an unemployment compensation decision.

Related & companion bills 1

Bill text 1 version

Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 1

Finance Committee
Senate

Cosponsors 18

Murray, Patty

Washington · Sep 13, 2021

Bennet, Michael F.

Colorado · Mar 1, 2021

Blumenthal, Richard

Connecticut · Mar 1, 2021

Booker, Cory A.

New Jersey · Mar 1, 2021

Cortez Masto, Catherine

Nevada · Mar 1, 2021

Durbin, Richard J.

Illinois · Mar 1, 2021

Gillibrand, Kirsten E.

New York · Mar 1, 2021

Hirono, Mazie K.

Hawaii · Mar 1, 2021

Kaine, Tim

Virginia · Mar 1, 2021

Klobuchar, Amy

Minnesota · Mar 1, 2021

Markey, Edward J.

Massachusetts · Mar 1, 2021

Vermont · Mar 1, 2021

Maryland · Mar 1, 2021

Warner, Mark R.

Virginia · Mar 1, 2021

Cite this page click to expand

APA

U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 490: Unemployment Insurance Technology Modernization Act of 2021. 117th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-490/

MLA

"S. 490: Unemployment Insurance Technology Modernization Act of 2021." 117th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-490/.

Bluebook (legal)

S. 490, 117th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-490/.

Markdown link

[S. 490: Unemployment Insurance Technology Modernization Act of 2021](https://openamerica.io/bill/117-S-490/)