The Stop Unemployment Fraud Act is designed to crack down on people fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits by requiring stronger identity verification, better data sharing between agencies, and stricter work search requirements. Right now, some people can claim unemployment benefits without proper verification, and states don't always catch cases where someone is already working or has passed away. This bill would require anyone applying for unemployment to provide a government ID plus supporting documents like utility bills or lease agreements. States would have to use a national database of newly hired workers to check if claimants are actually employed, and they'd also check against Social Security records to identify deceased individuals and incarcerated people who shouldn't be receiving benefits. The bill also stops the practice of paying benefits first and verifying eligibility later—instead, states must confirm someone is actually eligible before sending them money. Additionally, people claiming benefits would have to prove they're actively searching for work by maintaining detailed records of employers they've contacted and submitting those records weekly to the state. To help states pay for these new systems and procedures, the bill allows them to keep up to 5 percent of money they recover from fraudulent overpayments and use it for fraud prevention technology and modernizing their unemployment systems.

To amend title III of the Social Security Act and the Federal Unemployment Tax Act to require identity verification procedures and data matching, to prevent unemployment fraud, and to strengthen work search requirements, and for other purposes.