WOTC database 08/04/21 (Illinois Department Of Employment Security)

Attention: Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Unit

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:

1) All reports regarding Work Opportunity Tax Credits certified in 2019 and 2020 provided to the US Department of Labor, including forms 9058.
2) Any database tracking Work Opportunity Tax Credit certifications which is created or maintained by your department or by any third party vendor under contract with your department, preferably in .csv or .xlsx format. If it is easier, the database can be limited to the calendar or fiscal years ending in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
3) The most recent of any contracts with third party vendors to track WOTC certifications.

My goal is to ascertain which businesses and industries are applying for and/or receiving Work Opportunity Tax Credits, for which categories of employees and which occupations. If a conversation could help narrow or expedite the completion of this request, I am available at 802 233 4992 and emily_corwin@harvard.edu.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emily Corwin

Hello,

Thank you so much for these documents. I'm afraid I may have failed to communicate what I meant in item #3. I am seeking any finalized, currently operational contracts with third party vendors who track WOTC data for IL, not drafts of future contracts. Are there any other responsive documents that might fit this amended description?

Thanks,
Emily

Hello,

I am circling back about this request for public records. I have a question about one of the answers in your response document, and would like to speak with someone at your agency by phone. Here's the essence of my question:

You state:

"The Department does not track Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) certifications. The Department’s third party vendor tracks the WOTC certifications that are handled by the vendor, but does not track the WOTC certifications handled by the Department. The responsive records are contained in the attached PDF titled Vendor Reports."

It sounds from this as though your vendor only tracks some, not all WOTC certifications. This seems to be the case judging from the omission of many target groups from the vendor's aggregate data provided (Vendor Reports.pdf). I can see from the ETA Reports document that the missing target groups, i.e. Ex-Felons, are certified for WOTC in Illinois. If neither the department nor the vendor tracks these applications and certifications... how are you able to calculate the totals for the ETA Reports you send to USDOL?

Perhaps there is someone at your agency who I can speak with on the phone.

Many thanks,
Emily