LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- People who have been waiting weeks — and in some cases months — to receive their unemployment benefits finally received in-person help in Louisville Monday.
State unemployment officials opened a pop-up office at the Ford United Auto Workers union hall off Fern Valley road.
"I made one mistake when I applied. One click of a button,” said Lois Sinkhorn. "... It took him two seconds to redo that click, and I was out the door in five minutes.”
She said she expects to be paid by the end of this week — after waiting for 14 weeks for her benefits.
Most who got through the line said the process was quick and easy, though some people, including Anthony Johnson, said although they set up an appointment, their names did not appear on a posted list.
"People can't wait no more. I don't understand, I had an appointment here," Johnson said. "Right now my bills are piled up. I'm about to lose my home, my cars. I'm about to lose everything I worked for because of unemployment."
Johnson said he filed for UI benefits three months ago and hasn't received a payment.
Chris Price also was turned away at the pop-up office Monday, confused over a scheduled time.
"I got an 11 o'clock slot but I'm not on the list," he said. "When I took a screenshot on the last page (of the website), it showed the review and said it was still loading, so I guess maybe their website froze up."
When the state announced the pop-up office last week, the website crashed as masses of people tried to schedule an appointment. All appointment slots were taken within six hours.
John Pendegrass, workforce development manager for the state, said he was "not aware” of any appointments being purged from the system. He said people with appointments would have received a confirmation email or text.
Price and Johnson said their confirmations never came but were adamant they made appointments online. The UI staffer who greeted people before they lined up took down their names and said they would get contacted next week to help them with their claims.
Johnson told WDRB News Monday evening that a state worker contacted him and told him that his claim would be fixed and he would start receiving payments Thursday.
Todd Dunn, the president of UAW Local 862 (file photo)
UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn said between 2,000 and 2,500 union members are still waiting for unemployment money, which prompted him to contact Gov. Andy Beshear’s office to offer the union hall for a pop-up office.
"When you have 14,000 members working inside the plant, you have thousands upon thousands more friends and family that are working everywhere else in the community and they need help too,” Dunn said.
About 4,500 people were expected to get in-person help at the Louisville location this week, he said.
Unemployment challenges
Unemployment insurance in Kentucky has been a consistent problem since the start of the pandemic, in part because of the sheer volume of claims, but also because of the state’s outdated system and insufficient workforce.
About 70,000 people are still waiting for their first check. Some have waited since March.
State officials said in April that on a typical day before the crisis, 12 employees would process about 1,250 calls per day. But over a period of three days, 120 people had fielded 200,000 calls.
In July, the state hired global accounting firm Ernst & Young to help address the backlog of unemployment claims. The state is using $11.5 million in CARES ACT funding for the contract.
A former Kentucky unemployment insurance director told lawmakers last week that the Beshear administration cut corners in a hurried attempt to approve “a crush” of jobless claims last spring.
Muncie McNamara, a Bardstown attorney and political supporter whom Beshear briefly installed as UI director this year, said the administration overrode warning signs to approve thousands of claims that should have been individually investigated, until the U.S. Department of Labor “got wind that we were doing that and told us that we had to stop.”
McNamara is protesting his May firing as executive director of the Office of Unemployment Insurance.
A spokesman for Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet said McNamara was fired for unprofessional behavior toward cabinet leadership and teammates and that he lacked the leadership skills necessary to address the issues affecting the Office of Unemployment Insurance.
Related Stories:
- Fired Kentucky unemployment director: Beshear administration cut corners to approve claims
- Beshear says it's unclear when state will offer more in-person help with unemployment claims in Louisville
- Kentucky unemployment claims spike, overload system, but state leaders say help is coming
Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
