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The Labor Department deployed a "strike team" to California to address federal findings of improper payments and alleged fraud within the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) program.

California has been found to have a depleted UI trust fund, along with $21 billion in borrowed federal funds to keep the system running — which federal officials say has led state employers to pay higher UI taxes to repay the debt.

In a statement, the department cited an 83-page California State Auditorreportthat determined the state’s UI system is high-risk, in part due to "inadequate fraud prevention and claimant service [in its employment development department (EDD)], as well as a high rate of overturned eligibility decisions in its Unemployment Insurance Program."

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seen.(Tayfun Coskun/Getty Images)

"Financial issues and potential fraud in California’s unemployment insurance program will be fully examined. The previous administration turned a blind eye toward failing Labor programs: This ends now," Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said.

"Immediately, we are engaging a specialized strike team to uncover any potential fraud or abuse and quickly moving to protect the American worker and taxpayers. I look forward to restoring the California UI program’s integrity and financial health."

Chavez-DeRemer added that the "strike team" will include Labor Department specialists from both its national and regional offices.

The secretary also wrote a letter to the EDD, citing increasing improper payment rates, insufficient timeliness, data accuracy and quality concerns, and questions about participants’ eligibility and the use of taxpayer funds.

Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos