State unemployment departments struggled to meet demand during pandemic, report finds
At least $40 billion in pandemic-related unemployment has been stolen, but Congress is about to approve more money with few new safeguards.Some Senate Democrats push for recurring stimulus checks — but not in pending relief bill
California took 32 days to set up the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides money to those who haven’t previously qualified for unemployment, including the self-employed and gig workers. The state took 61 days to implement the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which gives money to people who have exhausted benefits provided by the state but are still unemployed because of the pandemic.
Wednesday’s report recommended a nationwide study of the technological needs of state unemployment systems, and that the federal government help states modernize those systems. It also urged the Labor Department to assist states with claims, overpayment and fraud reporting, and to develop standards for what guidance to provide to states in case temporary unemployment systems need to be put in place again.
“A complete overhaul of unemployment administration is critical here,” Wyden said in a statement Wednesday. “If we don’t do this now, we will see the same problems during the next recession, with unacceptable levels of fraud, and jobless workers waiting months and spending hours and hours on the phone to get the benefits they have earned.”
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