Rhode Island Recognized for Running One of Nation's Top-Performing Unemployment Insurance Tax Operation
Rhode Island has been recognized for running one of the nation’s best Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax operations. The Division of Taxation and Department of Labor and Training (DLT) received a State Performance Excellence Award as the top-performing small state in this function at a conference of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) in Albuquerque, NM.
DLT Assistant Director of Income Support Robert Langlais, who heads the state UI program, and Chief Revenue Agent Philip D’Ambra, head of the Division of Taxation’s Employer Tax section, accepted the NASWA award last week. This is the sixth straight year that Rhode Island has won in the small state category. DLT and the Employer Tax section have long collaborated on running this key area of the state UI system.
“For Rhode Island to be recognized by its peers for running high-quality UI tax operations is gratifying and I congratulate the Division of Taxation and DLT for their efforts,” Governor Gina Mr. Raimondo said. “My administration is committed to continuous improvement in rethinking the way we work and becoming more customer-friendly to make it easier for Rhode Islanders to do business with government.”
Acting Department of Revenue Director David M. Sullivan said, “This award recognizes the high standards of the Division of Taxation’s Employer Tax section and of the Department of Labor and Training. It also recognizes the hard work that the Division of Taxation and the Department of Labor and Training do, day in and day out, as a team.” Sullivan added, “Their work reflects well on the Department of Revenue’s Division of Taxation, the Department of Labor and Training, and on the State of Rhode Island. We are all very proud of their accomplishments.”
“Along with the US Department of Labor, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies sets the standard for best practices in our field. For this reason, I’m especially proud of our UI tax team’s accomplishment,” said DLT Director Scott Jensen. “Our goal is to continue to innovate to deliver excellent customer service to both the workers who rely on UI and the employers who pay for UI. Doing this will help Rhode Island preserve a skilled workforce that’s ready to meet the challenges of our competitive economy.”
