A state-by-state breakdown of failures in unemployment systems across the US during the pandemic
Advertisement
Allana Akhtar,Nick LichtenbergSep 10, 2020, 00:40 IST
Advertisement
In Alabama, a technical glitch within the unemployment filing system led to as many as 53,000 possible account suspensions.
Arizona was one of the first states approved for additional $300 in federal aid from President Trump's August 8 memorandum, by which point more than 26,000 claims were sitting in a backlog.
Advertisement
Arkansas Commerce Secretary Mike Presten said that as of August, 25,000 people remained locked out of receiving unemployment benefits due to a poorly designed system. Another 10,000 were delayed in receiving regular payments.
Despite processing eight million clams between March and August, California still had a backlog of claims that it estimated would take two months to clear.
Advertisement
In Colorado, 8,000 calls to the state's department of labor and employment were going unanswered per day as of July, and 30% to 50% of unemployment claims were being rejected due to fraud a month later.
In Connecticut, more than 8,000 people waited as long as 10 weeks for a hearing with the state over problems approving their unemployment applications.
Advertisement
Delaware officials said in June that 3,600 individuals had been delayed in receiving unemployment benefits due to a technical error.
In Florida, one chef told ClickOrlando in August that he had yet to receive unemployment benefits since he got laid off five months earlier, on March 20.
Advertisement
Georgia's department of labor attributed delays in unemployment benefits to investigations into fraud.
In Hawaii, more than 100,000 people experienced delays for weeks due to technology problems.
Advertisement
In Idaho, just 30,000 of the 77,430 people who got laid off in March received payments within a month. The state was among the slowest in the country to begin making payments amid the pandemic.
In Indiana, 20,000 residents did not receive unemployment payments for the week of August 16 due to a systemwide change.
Advertisement
Iowa's system dates back to 1972, leading to reports of jammed phone lines, with some saying they couldn't even get placed on hold or called for a month straight without getting through.
Kansas Labor Secretary Delía García resigned in June due to problems with administering unemployment benefits, including giving 4,500 people duplicate payments.
Advertisement
The Louisiana Workforce Commission said the flood of jobless claims overwhelmed the system, which wasn't built for that level of capacity. Many residents said their payments were delayed for weeks.
Maine residents who qualify for benefits said their jobless claims were "stuck" in the computer system, leaving them without pay for months. The leaders responsible for the computer system's glitch hadn't solved the issue as of early September.
Advertisement
Unemployment claims were delayed by more than two months for some Michigan residents as of July.
Montana paid out $10 million in potentially fraudulent unemployment claims during the pandemic, per the state's department of labor and industry.
Advertisement
Nebraska Labor Commissioner John Albin apologized in May for delays in processing claims, acknowledging that the state wasn't even processing 75% of claims within 28 days by that point.
A Nevada unemployment benefits center closed due to an outbreak at the site. The state had a backlog of up to 17 weeks for some people.
Advertisement
The New Jersey Senate Labor Committee approved a bill requiring an audit of the state's unemployment agency after it delayed payments to workers for months.
North Carolina was ranked the worst state for receiving timely unemployment benefits even prior to the pandemic — and during the crisis ProPublica proclaimed it "the worst state to be unemployed."
Advertisement
North Dakota's employment office said in April that "technical issues" had delayed payments from being made on time.
Ohio placed 270,000 unemployment claims on hold in August amid concerns about fraud.
Advertisement
As of June, 200 residents were waiting in line per day outside Oklahoma City's Oklahoma Employment Commission to try to resolve problems with their submitted claims.
Two of Oregon's representatives in Congress sent a letter to the state's employment department, criticizing its lack of "communication and transparency" after the state acknowledged its computer system sometimes gave improper guidance and incorrectly denied claims.
Advertisement
In Pennsylvania, 90,000 workers who filed for unemployment benefits between March 15 and June 20 hadn't gotten any money as of July.
In Rhode Island, fraudsters had stolen $12 million in unemployment claims as of September.
Advertisement
South Dakota Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman said in April that roughly a quarter of unemployment applications had taken "longer than normal" due to application errors or other issues.
Tennessee's unemployment system experienced a glitch in July that caused 8,000 delays in weekly benefits.
Advertisement
The Texas Workforce Commission, the state agency responsible for paying unemployment, is investigating 233 instances of schemes to steal recipients' personal information.
Two laid-off workers in Washington sued the state's Employment Security Department in June after weeks of delays in getting jobless benefits.
Advertisement
Thousands in West Virginia waited more than a month to get unemployment benefits due to problems with fraudulent claims.
Wisconsin had a backlog of 141,000 people waiting on unemployment benefits as of mid-July.
Advertisement
Wyoming's department of workforce services said a technical problem with the state's unemployment system had led to delays.