As Wisconsin reopens and more employees across the state are heading back to work, thousands are still waiting to hear about weeks of unemployment claims that remain unpaid by the state.
As of Monday, more than 2 million weekly claims had been filed since March 15, but only about 1.4 million of those claims have been paid out, according to the Department of Workforce Development. That leaves more than 675,000 claims unpaid — and does not include those who haven't been able to file because of other issues.
So far, the state has paid out nearly $418 million in unemployment benefits.
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In addition, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program has paid out more than $726 million. The program, passed as a part of the CARES Act, gives those filing for unemployment during the pandemic an additional $600 per week.
As of May 11, the department announced that all back payments through the federal program had been completed, but those payments did not include individuals whose unemployment applications are still being held due to eligibility questions.
For those now returning to work as businesses reopen in the wake of last week's state Supreme Court decision, the department is still promising back pay — though it's unclear how long that will take.
Ben Jedd, communications director for department, said the situation is unprecedented.
"With hundreds of our existing employees working overtime for two months straight and operating on an inflexible, 50-year-old base benefits system, our staff has responded with urgency, compassion, and steadfast dedication," said Jedd. "The department is doing everything it can to meet the needs of Wisconsinites."
But some critics say it just isn't enough, as the wait time for unemployment checks in some cases has grown to almost two months.
"I understand that this is a new time that the unemployment office is facing, but there has to be some sort of direction to let us know what is happening," said Dustin Anderson, a Superior resident who has been waiting since late March for a call to resolve an unemployment claim.
Department expands hours, adds call center employees
While much can be done online, department officials say they are still getting a high number of calls. Last week alone, more than 4.2 million calls were made to the unemployment division.
To address the influx, the department has been working to add employees.
In all, about 155 new employees started last week, and 230 more will start this week, Jedd said. Additional call center employees will be trained in waves, a process ultimately expected to add 500 employees in a mix of temporary and permanent positions.
Meanwhile, 55 people have been trained to take calls through a vendor call center and will start taking calls later this week, said Jedd.
The hours the department will answer calls will also be extended, from the current 7:35 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jedd said. The new hours will begin once enough staff has been hired and trained.
The extension of hours followed a call last week by state Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, to provide hours beyond the normal 40 per week. While Nygren was pleased to see the extension, he said more could be done .
"While this is a step in the right direction, until taxpayers are no longer waiting six weeks to hear back on the unemployment claim, we should do everything we can," Nygren said in a recent Facebook post. "This still isn't enough. Other states have gone much further to address this issue, we should too."
Some receiving payments, others left without answers
Though some people have received back payments, there seems to be little rhyme or reason as to where the delays are.
In a Facebook group called "Wisconsin Unemployment Support Group," some posts say their claims from April have been paid, while others have shared that they're still waiting on payments dating back to March, when virus-related layoffs first started.
Adrian Shiddell, a paraprofessional for the Waukesha School District who previously told the Journal Sentinel about his struggles with filing for unemployment, said after waiting a month, his claim was addressed by the department. He received his unemployment payment last week.
He said he got no explanation as to why his claims were suddenly approved after waiting.
"I did my usual weekly filing," he said.
Josh Rardin, who also spoke with the Journal Sentinel for a previous story, said after filing for unemployment in late March after being laid off by his employer, Music Go Round, he finally heard back from the department.
Four of six of his weekly claims came through, he said, and the other two were disqualified this week. He also got a letter, which said he has an appeal hearing this week. Seeing the money come in was a relief that allowed him to pay off money owed to his girlfriend for rent and groceries.
"Not going to lie, it felt pretty damn good," he said.
'It's a little more stress'
For Anderson, the experience is continuing with no end in sight.
Anderson said he filed for unemployment insurance March 23, but has yet to see any money — only notices that different parts of his application are pending.
Six weeks after applying, Anderson said, he got a call from a claims specialist who told him they would start processing his application, but he hasn't heard anything since. Though his partner is still working, they have two children and have had to tighten their belts with only one income.
"It's definitely a little more challenging," he said. "It's a little more stress."
He's tried calling and emailing the state, but nothing seems to get through to the claims department. Anderson said if he can't file for regular unemployment and only qualifies for the federal assistance, he would simply like to be told as much.
Lawmakers still seeing flood of requests for help
Many residents continue reach out to lawmakers in hopes of getting more timely help. But lawmakers say they have had trouble getting responses from the department as well.
Nygren's office has continued to get calls about residents not receiving unemployment checks, some with claims going back to mid-March, said Nathan Schwanz, Nygren's chief of staff.
Schwanz said the office has gotten more than 70 calls about issues, but very few had their problems resolved.
"Of all the constituents we have heard from, we know affirmatively that four have been resolved," he said.
State Sen. André Jacque, R-De Pere, is also still hearing from constituents and is attempting to connect them with resources.
At first, when Jacque's office would send a message to the department about a claim, the constituent would hear back in a couple of days. Now, that wait has grown to 14 days in some cases.
"Two weeks? That's not good enough," Jacque said. "What are you supposed to do in the meantime?"
Jacque said the number of calls and messages he's getting about unpaid unemployment is so large that he has one of his staff dedicated to collecting information and passing it along to the department.
He understands the frustration people are facing.
"Your heart goes out to people in very difficult situations," he said.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@gannett.com and twitter.com/SchulteLaura.
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