Brief in Support of Emergency Injunction — Abrams v. Division of Unemployment Insurance

Source document: Brief in Support of Emergency Injunction — Abrams v. Division of Unemployment Insurance; document type: inspector-general-sigpr-reports.

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The United States District Court District of Colorado
901 19th St, Denver, CO 80294  |   (303) 844-3433
Plaintiff: Joshua Abrams
v.
Defendant(s): Division of Unemployment Insurance,
251 E 12th Ave Denver, CO  80203
[Joe Barela, Jeff Fitzgerald, John/Jane Doe(s) ]

▲COURT USE ONLY▲
Joshua Abrams, Pro Se | abramslive@gmail.com |609-968-9360
10722 N Parfet Street Westminster Colorado 80021
Case Number:
           1:24-cv-03390-RMR
Division:         Courtroom
Legal Brief In Support Of Emergency Injunction
​
Plaintiff submits this Memorandum to highlight systemic and unconstitutional administrative
failures by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), specifically regarding
overly broad unemployment benefit integrity holds. The CDLE’s practices have violated federal
statutes and multiple constitutional protections, causing severe economic hardship to thousands
of legitimate claimants, necessitating immediate judicial intervention.
Plaintiff respectfully submits this Legal Memorandum addressing systemic administrative failures and
constitutional violations arising from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s (CDLE)
aggressive implementation of unemployment integrity holds. In response to a significant surge in
fraudulent claims during 2020 and 2021, resulting in losses exceeding $75 million, CDLE substantially
intensified its fraud detection protocols. However, rather than enhancing administrative efficiency and
accountability, these intensified measures resulted in extensive and unreasonable delays, unjust denials,
and systemic harm to thousands of legitimate claimants statewide.
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FILED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DENVER, COLORADO

JEFFREY P. COLWELL, CLERK
8:06 am, Mar 19, 2025

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Under Title III, Section 303 of the Social Security Act, the CDLE has an explicit federal mandate to
ensure unemployment insurance benefits are paid promptly when due, balancing timely distribution with
effective fraud prevention. Furthermore, the Colorado Employment Security Act (C.R.S. § 8-73-108)
establishes specific criteria governing claimant eligibility, reinforcing the obligation of CDLE to fairly
and promptly administer benefits. Despite these clear statutory directives, CDLE's reliance on overly
broad, prolonged integrity holds has systematically undermined these mandates, subjecting claimants to
unwarranted economic distress and violating both state and federal legal requirements. This Memorandum
will address the legal foundation and implications of these administrative actions, highlighting explicit
violations of statutory obligations and constitutional protections.
I. Integrity Holds and Their Consequences : In January 2021, CDLE partnered with ID.me to
enhance identity verification and fraud prevention efforts. As documented in the Colorado Office of the
State Auditor’s November 2021 Unemployment Insurance Benefits Performance Audit, the deployment
of integrity holds and stringent verification measures resulted in widespread delays. The CDLE received
an overwhelming volume of assistance requests from claimants facing indefinite benefit holds,
exacerbating administrative inefficiencies and creating extreme backlogs.
The department asserts that these integrity holds align with its duty to prevent fraudulent claims.
However, in practice, these holds have functioned as de facto denials, preventing lawful claimants from
accessing benefits without a formal appeal process. The indefinite nature of these holds contradicts the
statutory requirement to ensure full payment of unemployment benefits when due, thereby violating
federal law.
The financial justification for the integrity hold system and third-party verification services, such as
ID.me and LexisNexis, remains unclear, with no publicly available data outlining the true cost of
implementation. While the state claims to be preventing fraudulent claims to protect taxpayer dollars, it
simultaneously spends unchecked amounts on external vendors with little to no transparency, oversight, or
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accountability. If the cost of these third-party verification systems approaches or even exceeds the
estimated $75 million in fraudulent claims, then the entire justification for their implementation becomes
questionable. The government cannot claim to be saving taxpayer money while indiscriminately funneling
funds into private entities whose effectiveness is, at best, dubious and, at worst, harmful to the legitimate
claimants they are meant to assist.
Furthermore, the potential for waste, mismanagement, and even fraud in the administration of these
third-party contracts cannot be ignored. If these vendors receive taxpayer dollars with no measurable
benchmarks, no accountability for wrongful denials, and no direct responsibility for resolving claims
efficiently, this system begins to resemble a harm against the American people rather than a legitimate
fraud prevention effort. The outsourcing of core government functions to private entities with financial
incentives to over-restrict benefits—while actively failing to process and resolve legitimate
claims—serves only to unjustly enrich these third parties at the expense of those in desperate need. This
unchecked spending, coupled with the suffering imposed upon legitimate claimants, raises serious
concerns about whether the fraud prevention system itself is inflicting more harm than the fraud it was
designed to stop.
II.A. Evidentiary Support for Violations : The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
(CDLE) inflicts systemic harm on Colorado citizens through its integrity holds, a pattern substantiated by
compelling evidence, including Plaintiff’s experience with a 2023 hold blocking a 2025 unemployment
insurance (UI) claim. The following exhibits highlight the scope and severity of these administrative
failures, underscoring the urgent need for injunctive relief.
1. Exhibit A: Google Maps Reviews : Exhibit A, four Google Maps reviews among over 500 one-star
ratings, documents the desperation of claimants statewide. Ali Taylor’s plea, “I’m writing in desperation, I
fear for my life, I applied in December,” and Mr. Jones’s report, “I’ve been pursuing my claim for 2
years,” illustrate how CDLE’s lack of viable communication channels forces citizens to resort to public
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forums typically reserved for business feedback. Alison Tyler’s “11 weeks been calling asking for help”
further reflects the prolonged delays and isolation claimants endure, a pattern mirrored by Plaintiff’s
unresolved hold despite submissions and an in-person visit.
2. Exhibit B: 9NEWS Article : Exhibit B, a 9NEWS article dated August 18, 2023, details the hardship
inflicted by CDLE’s aggressive fraud-prevention measures. It highlights claimant Tony Martinez, who
faced months without critical financial support after CDLE escalated its fraud detection software, trapping
valid claims in prolonged holds. The article notes CDLE’s admission that call center representatives
cannot provide specific claim information due to security protocols, leaving claimants like Martinez—and
Plaintiff, stalled from 2023 to 2025—without recourse or adequate communication, exacerbating financial
distress and anxiety statewide.
3. Exhibit C: OIG Oversight Report Excerpt : Exhibit C, an excerpt from the U.S. Department of Labor
OIG Oversight Report (updated Dec. 5, 2024),1 confirms CDLE’s ongoing systemic failures since 2021. It
reveals an institutional focus on superficial metrics, such as phone statistics, over meaningful resolution
of claimant issues, despite known delays affecting citizens like Plaintiff, whose 2023 hold persists into
2025 with ignored responses. This evidence, corroborated by additional state and national reports,
underscores CDLE’s failure to address persistent administrative breakdowns.
III. Procedural and Constitutional Violations : The Social Security Act, specifically Title III,
Section 303, imposes a clear and explicit federal mandate requiring state agencies, including the Colorado
Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), to administer unemployment insurance programs in a
manner that ensures both the timely payment of benefits to eligible claimants and the effective detection
and prevention of fraud. This dual responsibility is inherently balanced, preventing states from prioritizing
fraud prevention measures at the expense of prompt and fair distribution of unemployment benefits.
1 (U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, "OIG Oversight of the Unemployment
Insurance Program," last updated December 5, 2024, available at:
https://www.oig.dol.gov/doloiguioversightwork.htm#ong
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However, the CDLE has demonstrably failed to uphold this statutory balance. By excessively
implementing integrity holds as a primary mechanism to combat fraud, the agency has created systemic
and prolonged delays, significantly undermining the timely payment obligation mandated by federal law.
The CDLE’s reliance on integrity holds, which frequently impose indefinite and unexplained suspensions
of benefit payments, directly violates the explicit intent and statutory requirements set forth in Title III,
§303. While the prevention of fraud is indeed an essential governmental objective, federal law does not
permit states to adopt procedures that indiscriminately or disproportionately burden legitimate claimants.
CDLE's systemic prioritization of integrity holds, in response to prior failures in fraud detection that
allowed substantial fraudulent disbursements, has resulted in widespread harm to eligible claimants,
delaying their payments indefinitely and thus breaching the statutory obligation to ensure benefits are paid
"when due." This practice effectively penalizes legitimate claimants by withholding urgently needed
economic support under the guise of fraud prevention. Such administrative methods are inherently flawed,
incompatible with federal requirements, and require immediate correction to restore compliance with Title
III, §303 of the Social Security Act.
The integrity holds implemented by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) infringe
upon the constitutional rights of Colorado citizens by systematically obstructing lawful access to
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, resulting in pervasive, predictable, and ongoing constitutional
harm.
First Amendment violations arise from CDLE's practice of imposing unexplained and indefinite integrity
holds, effectively silencing legitimate claimants by preventing them from advocating their eligibility or
protesting wrongful denials. Thousands of Coloradans, reportedly up to 10,000, find themselves unable to
petition for redress due to these indefinite and opaque barriers. This systematic suppression directly
contravenes citizens' fundamental right to free speech and petition by blocking avenues through which
they could otherwise demand accountability or resolve disputes with governmental authorities. Such
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pervasive silencing constitutes a predictable and ongoing harm.  Furthermore, the indefinite nature of
these integrity holds which are absent of meaningful appeal processes or adequate notification have
transformed temporary administrative measures into permanent impediments, leaving claimants without
any effective means to rectify errors or challenge wrongful denials.
Fourth Amendment rights are violated by CDLE’s integrity holds, which have transformed legitimate
verification procedures into unreasonable and excessively burdensome intrusions. While measures to
prevent fraud, such as identity verification, are constitutionally permissible, these holds become
unconstitutional when they impose prolonged, unexplained, and indefinite delays on legitimate claimants.
Thousands of individuals face indefinite deprivation of benefits based solely on suspicion without
evidence or clear accusations of wrongdoing, turning justified security measures into punitive actions.
The systemic lack of transparency and functionality in the appeals or resolution process exacerbates this
violation, as claimants are subjected to arbitrary state action without adequate procedural safeguards or
timely resolution.
Fifth Amendment Due Process rights are systematically violated by CDLE through its failure to provide
adequate notice or meaningful opportunities to respond before depriving claimants of their unemployment
insurance benefits, a constitutionally protected property interest. Claimants face indefinite holds without
being informed of specific issues or accusations against them, stripping them of the basic right to address
and correct errors. This procedural deficiency creates predictable harm, as claimants have no mechanism
to contest or appeal decisions that directly impact their economic survival. The absence of effective
notification and a transparent appeals process effectively renders claimants powerless to challenge
wrongful denials or administrative errors, exacerbating economic hardship.
Sixth Amendment rights are infringed by CDLE’s implicit accusations of fraud against claimants, who are
denied prompt and fair adjudication. The indefinite integrity holds effectively impose penalties without
formal charges, treating claimants as quasi-criminal suspects without the constitutionally mandated
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procedural protections of a timely and impartial hearing. This systemic practice unfairly stigmatizes
legitimate claimants, subjecting them to prolonged uncertainty and economic harm without an opportunity
for resolution.
Ninth Amendment protections for unenumerated rights, essential for economic dignity and survival, are
violated by CDLE’s arbitrary and indefinite integrity holds. These holds deny claimants timely access to
benefits for which they are eligible, infringing upon their implicit rights to equitable treatment and fair
administration of government aid. Without a transparent process or timely resolution, claimants suffer
predictable and continuous harm, losing economic stability and dignity. The CDLE's unchecked use of
indefinite holds without accountability or transparency violates fundamental rights implicitly safeguarded
under the Ninth Amendment, necessitating judicial remedy to restore fairness and prevent ongoing harm.
Under the Tenth Amendment, CDLE's integrity holds represent an overreach of state authority, infringing
upon powers reserved to the people. By imposing indefinite holds without meaningful recourse or
transparency, CDLE effectively usurps individuals' reserved rights to participate in government processes
and hold authorities accountable. This systemic overreach undermines claimants’ autonomy and
economic agency, depriving them of their rightful influence over decisions affecting their economic
wellbeing.
Finally, CDLE’s integrity holds violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees of due process and equal
protection. By implementing arbitrary, indefinite holds without clear justification or functional appeal
processes, CDLE denies claimants their right to procedural fairness, leaving them unable to contest
wrongful denials or administrative errors. Additionally, the arbitrary application of these holds creates a
disparity among claimants, disproportionately burdening certain individuals without a rational basis. The
unequal treatment and procedural unfairness represent ongoing and predictable constitutional harms
requiring judicial correction.
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IV. Administrative Failures, Malfeasance, and Accessibility Violations : The Colorado
Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) has demonstrated systemic administrative malfeasance
and severe accessibility violations, profoundly harming thousands of unemployment insurance (UI)
claimants through persistent and deliberate failures in communication and service delivery. Each month,
hundreds of claimants—and cumulatively thousands over the years—are left stranded by integrity holds
compounded by dysfunctional communication systems for which the state spends tens of millions of
taxpayer dollars annually. Despite this substantial investment, the current communication infrastructure
remains entirely inadequate, providing minimal basic information such as claim amounts, past messages,
correspondence, and decisions, yet critically lacks the fundamental capability to directly send or receive
responsive communications regarding claim issues. Instead, claimants are continuously instructed to
repeatedly call the chronically overloaded call queue, which routinely results in immediate
disconnections, indefinite holds, and an inability to speak with knowledgeable representatives. This
negligent design perpetuates indefinite waiting periods, exploitation, and severe economic instability for
vulnerable populations, including disabled and economically disadvantaged individuals.
This chronic failure to ensure reasonable accessibility alternatives has egregiously harmed claimants,
particularly those with disabilities such as autism or other mental health challenges, who critically rely on
clear, predictable, and accessible communication methods. The purported accessibility measure—an offer
for a representative to attempt calling the congested queue for 30 minutes—is available exclusively to
legally blind individuals, deliberately excluding countless other disabled claimants. Additionally, CDLE
mandates in-person visits without providing virtual alternatives, creating unreasonable barriers and direct
safety risks for disabled claimants physically unable or disproportionately burdened by traveling into city
or office spaces. Such rigid, discriminatory requirements violate federal accessibility mandates, notably
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), resulting in substantial, ongoing harm to individuals already
facing significant socio-economic hardships.
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Further compounding this injustice, outsourced call center representatives, operating without meaningful
oversight or accountability, routinely engage in unethical practices. These contracted representatives
frequently terminate calls prematurely, provide false assurances, and deliberately mislead claimants to
artificially enhance performance metrics. This sabotage not only exacerbates existing delays but cruelly
misrepresents the concept of "integrity" that the CDLE purports to uphold, actively discriminating against
and unjustly depriving entitled claimants of the economic stability legally promised to them.
Consequently, disabled and impoverished claimants are systematically silenced, insulted, and left utterly
confused and disempowered by a deliberately impossible and constitutionally deficient process. The
cumulative result is the widespread devastation of thousands of lives, exacerbating poverty, homelessness,
and severe mental distress. Most disturbingly, the intricate and restrictive nature of the CDLE’s
administrative processes effectively silences countless claimants who lack the resources, knowledge, or
capacity to seek redress through federal courts or effectively challenge these egregious violations,
intensifying the urgent necessity for comprehensive judicial intervention and immediate systemic reform.
V. Immediate Reforms Required for Injunctive Relief : The Colorado Department of Labor and
Employment (CDLE) has inflicted widespread constitutional and statutory harm on Colorado citizens
through its indefinite integrity holds, violating Title III, § 303 of the Social Security Act’s mandate to pay
unemployment insurance (UI) benefits “when due” within 14–21 days (U.S. DOL standard) and C.R.S. §
8-73-108(4)(a)’s requirement for timely hearings. To halt this ongoing harm, restore legal compliance,
and protect all Coloradans’ rights, Plaintiff petitions the following reforms be ordered via emergency
injunction:
1.​ Dedicated Integrity Hold Appeals Process: The current unemployment appeals framework does
not accommodate challenges to integrity holds, overburdening existing resources and delaying
justice. CDLE must promptly establish a specialized appeals process exclusively for integrity
holds, ensuring rapid, fair resolutions tailored to this issue, thereby optimizing efficiency and
upholding claimants’ rights without taxing traditional unemployment adjudication channels.
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2.​ Enhanced Notices and Follow-up Requirements: CDLE must deliver comprehensive,
unambiguous notices to claimants under integrity holds, detailing the specific trigger, exact
documentation needed, and clear submission instructions with confirmation protocols. To
guarantee awareness and action, CDLE shall issue automatic follow-up notices—up to four if
necessary—maintaining continuous, proactive communication until resolution, aligning with
federal and state mandates for timely benefit administration.
3.​ Integrity Hold Time Limits and Automatic Review: Every integrity hold must undergo automatic
review within 30 days, enforcing a strict deadline to prevent indefinite benefit suspensions and
ensure compliance with Title III, § 303’s prompt payment requirement. This streamlined
mechanism guarantees swift adjudication, protecting claimants from prolonged economic distress
while maintaining fraud prevention efficacy.
4.​ Expanded Communication and Priority Support Channels: CDLE shall immediately upgrade its
communication infrastructure to include callback scheduling and virtual appointments, enabling
direct, real-time claimant-agent interactions. Concurrently, a dedicated priority channel—via
portal or phone—must be launched for claimants unresolved beyond four weeks, offering
expedited support to alleviate severe financial hardship and ensure urgent cases receive
immediate attention, reinforcing equitable access to benefits.
These reforms offer a strategic, resource-efficient framework to deliver immediate relief to claimants,
ensure full compliance with constitutional mandates and statutory obligations with minimal delay or
administrative burden. Plaintiff stands ready to collaborate with the Court and Defendant to tailor these
solutions, preserving fraud prevention efficacy and cost considerations, provided the outcome decisively
eliminates the pervasive constitutional violations and halts the ongoing, life-threatening harm inflicted on
thousands of Colorado citizens by a fundamentally broken system.
In compliance with emergency injunctions Plaintiff has demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the
merits by providing clear evidence that the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s (CDLE)
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current practices violate both federal and state law, as well as the constitutional rights of thousands of
legitimate unemployment claimants. CDLE’s use of indefinite and unjustified integrity holds directly
contravenes its legal obligation under Title III, Section 303 of the Social Security Act to ensure timely
payment of unemployment benefits while balancing fraud prevention. This failure is well documented
through state audits, media coverage, public testimony, and hundreds of direct accounts from affected
claimants.
The harm caused by CDLE’s policies is immediate, ongoing, and irreparable. Every day that claimants are
unjustly denied their legally entitled benefits, they face severe financial hardship, risk of eviction,
homelessness, and substantial emotional distress—none of which can be adequately remedied later
through monetary compensation alone. Plaintiff, personally and on behalf of similarly situated claimants,
continues to suffer these harms with each passing day.
In balancing the equities, the requested injunction poses minimal administrative hardship to CDLE,
especially considering the tens of millions of dollars already spent annually on ineffective
fraud-prevention methods and outsourced third-party services. By contrast, the injunction would provide
immediate relief to thousands who desperately need access to their benefits for basic economic survival.
Thus, equity strongly favors Plaintiff and similarly situated claimants.
The public interest is clearly served by issuing this emergency injunction. Ensuring that government
agencies adhere to constitutional requirements, statutory mandates, and principles of basic fairness and
transparency is fundamentally in the public’s best interest.
The CDLE has a duty to safeguard public funds against fraudulent claims. However, its reliance on broad
‘integrity holds’ as a primary fraud prevention tool has resulted in widespread harm to legitimate
claimants, violating both statutory mandates and constitutional protections. Immediate reforms are
necessary to restore compliance with federal and state laws and to uphold the fundamental rights of
Colorado’s unemployed workers.
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The state must act swiftly to implement procedural safeguards that balance fraud prevention with due
process and timely benefit distribution. Failure to address these systemic issues will not only continue to
harm claimants but also expose the state to further widespread liability and potential legal challenges
based on due process violations and statutory noncompliance making it the right and necessary thing to do
for the state and its citizens.
________________________________________
Date: 03-18-2025 | ❑Petitioner/Plaintiff
Joshua Abrams, Pro Se

Attachments:
Exhibit A: Google Maps Reviews (4 Pictures)
Exhibit B: 9NEWS Article, Aug. 18, 2023
Exhibit C: OIG Oversight Report Excerpt (U.S. DOL, Dec. 5, 2024)

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Exhibit A

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Unemployment fraud protections affects legitimate claimants | 9news.com
https://www.9news.com/article/money/economy/colorado-unemploymen...
1 of 3
3/18/2025, 10:22 PM
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Exhibit B

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Exhibit C

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Exhibit C

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