LOUISVILLE, Ky (WDRB) -- Frustration continues to mount among Kentuckians struggling to access unemployment benefits with many still unable to get through on the state's overwhelmed phone lines.
The delays are largely due to staffing shortages and an outdated unemployment system, according to Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet Secretary Jamie Link. Kentucky still uses the same decades-old system, but the state agreed in May 2024 to a six-year, $55.5 million contract with Deloitte Consulting to replace the antiquated technology.
"Since the contract was awarded to Deloitte in late May 2024, more than 1,200 tax requirements have been reviewed to ensure functionality and regulatory compliance," Jill Midkiff, executive director of the Office of Communications for the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, said last year. This phase of the project is ongoing with implementation expected during the first quarter of 2026."
But in early 2025, the complains keep coming about the system's backlog.
"I filed back in December and have yet to hear anything," one man wrote in an email to WDRB. "My account has been in 'fact finding' since I filed."
"This is ridiculous — to go this long with no paycheck," said a woman who lost her job last fall.
The Kentucky Labor Cabinet acknowledged it's failing to meet U.S. Department of Labor standards, which call for processing unemployment claims within 14-21 days. Link said budget constraints forced the state to eliminate 49 positions in 2023 including adjudicators and call center staff. Currently, only 32 full-time and six part-time employees are handling unemployment claims statewide.
"Because of our staffing, we are at about 14 weeks for claims that are in adjudication and fact-finding," Link told state lawmakers during hearing earlier this month on the unemployment crisis.
The state hopes to ease the backlog by hiring 25 additional workers and upgrading its outdated technology.
"We want to eliminate all the pain and frustrations we have with the current system," said Anthony Hudgins, deputy executive director of the Office of Unemployment Insurance.
The new system aims to simplify the claims process, allowing users to submit claims, check payments, receive benefits, and file appeals online. However, the overhaul will take years. While some updates are expected to roll out later this year, the system will not be fully operational until 2028.
"We have to work with the vendor to help design and build the system, and that takes the expertise of a lot of the current unemployment staff," Link said. "For the last seven or eight months, staff have been learning the new system while trying to process claims as time allows."
Meanwhile, many Kentuckians remain in limbo. One woman shared a letter from the governor's office stating claims from mid-October are currently being processed — leaving her and others facing a long wait.
Kentucky Unemployment Coverage:
- State officials lay out timeline to replace Kentucky's 40-year-old unemployment system
- Thousands of Kentuckians remain frustrated, stuck for months in state's clogged unemployment system
- Kentucky's unemployment system still plagued by delays, frustration as state prepares for overhaul
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