Unemployment Insurance
Modernization

UI Modernization Project Status

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is undertaking a major step forward to better serve employees and employers through modernization of the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. DWD began its benefits modernization projects in 2021, using the "iterative process" defined by incremental, flexible, and feedback-driven improvements.

One of the first iterative modernization projects was a cloud-based Customer Call Center that provided an omnichannel web-based call delivery system that provides greater flexibility for agents in taking and responding to calls and in monitoring those calls. Since that time, DWD has undertaken various projects to modernize the suite of Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) systems, including:

• Fraud screen tool advancements;
• A cloud-based omni-channel contact center;
• Virtual customer service agents that are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to answer common questions in English and Spanish;
• An online chatbot that can answer common questions in English, Spanish, and Hmong;
• Fraud detection through LexisNexis and National Association of State Workforce Agencies' Integrity Data Hub;
• Secure online messaging with adjudicators;
• Translation of the UI application into plain language;
• A dashboard showing initial and weekly claims by county;
• An adjudication scheduler;
• ID Proofing;
• Knowledge base tool implementation; and
• Accessibility assessments

In May 2025, DWD's modernization projects suffered a setback when the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) terminated its grants to modernize the employer portal, address technical limitations of the current system, and expand opportunities for communication between employers and the state. The modern employer portal would improve communication between DWD and its customers for tax and wage reporting, employer information and support, responding to submitted unemployment insurance claims verification, and appeal activities all in a secure setting.

As a result of the termination of the grants by U.S. DOL, DWD had to rescale its modernization efforts to reflect funding availability. DWD will continue to modernize the benefits system and the employer portal system, but it will be unable to migrate to a cloud-based IT system. The summaries of quarterly work below provide further detail of DWD's modernization efforts.

Modernization is a continuous journey dependent on perpetual evolution to meet the ever-changing needs of the program. This means that there will always be more to improve and refine to stay current. DWD is looking forward to continuing these efforts and implementing innovative solutions.

Project Updates

Second Quarter 2026

DWD is focusing on converting to modern code “on premise” rather than in the cloud. DWD will continue to develop the monetaries and other modules on premise with a focus on modern coding language that is more flexible and adaptable. The work on the rescaled projects for this quarter include:

1. Modernization of benefits systems:

   Mainframe Code Conversion: This project converts the existing COBOL applications that support UI benefit calculations and determinations to a modern programming language and cloud-ready technical framework. Through a trainer, DWD developers will receive upskilling to work with new technology that can assist in the conversion process. The vendor will complete the code conversion; DWD developers will then complete the transition from the legacy COBOL-based system and be able to maintain a modern system in the future. During this quarter, DWD has completed code scanning of all COBOL programs (ahead of schedule) and the code conversion to modern code has begun.

   Manual Processing Reduction: This project accelerates the claim determination process by taking claims the legacy system cannot process automatically through a modern module. The module reduces the manual processing efforts required to address the areas that caused backlog during the pandemic. 3 During this quarter, DWD successfully tested an adjustment to the benefits from start to finish, demonstrating that the automation process can prevent the accumulation of claims on complex adjustments.

   Modern Coding Language: This project converts three applications to a consistent modern language to increase features, introduce security functionality, and improve ease of development. DWD has continued upgrading the coding language to support the outward-facing Claimant Portal, the internal facing Worker Portal, and UIBNET, which are used by staff to process claims. This conversion project uses the same modern language as the mainframe conversion project to allow a smooth integration with the benefits system.

2. Modernization of Employer Portal:

   The project implements code upgrades to preserve existing functionality and incorporates modern features that Wisconsin employers need to maintain efficiency and flexibility, all in a user-friendly format. DWD is working with a vendor to upgrade the coding language that supports the existing employer portal with a new screen design based on human-centered design principles. During this quarter, DWD completed the coding for enhancements to the tax and wage reporting processes, payment functionality to support employer payment of UI taxes, and portal administrative functions that support email subscription and access.

View Press Releases and Quarterly Reports