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The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said Wednesday that newly revised numbers show 88%
of the valid unemployment insurance claims that have come in since the beginning of the COVID-19 shutdown have been processed
and paid out by the state agency.
DLIR said the new numbers more accurately reflect the progress made in assisting unemployment insurance claimants as well as accurately diagnosing the scope of the outstanding claims yet to be processed.
“We sincerely appreciate people’s patience and wanted the public to know the scope of the remaining issues as well as the scope of the incredible progress made,” DLIR Deputy Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio said. “Our unemployment insurance operations continue to evolve as we work to address the remaining claims as well as the newly filed claims more strategically and quickly. We are very grateful of all the state employees that have volunteered to help with this unprecedented situation as well as our hard-working DLIR staff.”
DLIR said 228,367 claims have been filed statewide.
The Labor Department said it has encountered the following common problems:
>> Incorrect deposit information supplied by claimants.
>> No weekly certifications filed by claimants.
>> Claim backdate issues.
>> Separation from work that requires investigation.
>> Claimants that have filed multiple claims.
>> Failure to create a user name and password in the claimant online portal.
The Labor Department said it initially struggled to keep up with the unprecedented increase in unemployment insurance claims and that its typical average claim load of 20,000 spiked to 228,367 over the course of just a few weeks.