The 56,000 outstanding March, April and May unemployment claims in Kentucky should be resolved by the end of July, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday, thanks to a newly signed contract that will quadruple the number of people working on the claims.
The state has entered into a $7.4 million contract with Ernst & Young to provide 300 people to process Kentucky unemployment claims, tens of thousands of which have gone unpaid for many weeks.
"The purpose is to get us caught up and caught up quickly,” Beshear said during a Tuesday news conference. "What this means is help is on the way."
Starting July 6, 200 Ernst & Young employees will be processing Kentucky unemployment claims, reaching out to filers to resolve issues with their claims.
By July 13, Beshear said, 100 more employees will be added to help with claims, bringing the state's count of claim processors from the current 100 up to 400.
The contract, which runs for four weeks starting July 1, will be paid for through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the COVID-19 relief bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law in March.
More unemployment news: Savings running low for Kentuckians still waiting on unemployment benefits
By hiring an outside vendor instead of training new state employees, Beshear said, the state is saving $20 million in annual costs and preventing current employees from being pulled to train new workers, a process that could take four to six months.
Beshear's administration has weathered criticism by frustrated unemployment filers and some elected officials who say state officials moved too slowly to bolster unemployment staffing amid the unprecedented number of claims due to the pandemic.
More than 900,000 new unemployment claims have been filed in Kentucky since the onset of the pandemic, about 90 percent of which have been processed, according to the state.
Explaining that delays in claim processing come from a lack of personnel, Beshear has recently pointed to budget slashes in 2017 that closed nearly half of regional unemployment offices and cut nearly 95 employees, "starving" the state's Office of Unemployment Insurance.
In an effort to ramp up staffing, contracts between the state and private vendors signed this spring added more than 500 workers to the unemployment call center phone lines, though these additional workers were not able to access claims and fix issues.
Read more: Yes, Kentucky staffed up its unemployment phone lines. But many can't fix your problems
Related: Kentucky approved for $865 million federal loan to shore up unemployment insurance fund
Republican House Speaker David Osborne, in a statement, expressed pleasure at the Tuesday announcement and said too many Kentuckians are still struggling and deserve attention.
"We are glad to finally see some movement in this situation and hopeful that it means progress for the thousands of Kentuckians still waiting for their unemployment insurance claims to be processed," Osborne said in a statement. "The House Majority Caucus will continue to make these Kentuckians a priority and we are hopeful that the administration resolves this ongoing issue."
Ernst & Young will also review the processes and technology underpinning Kentucky's unemployment system, Beshear said.
Beshear also announced in-person unemployment assistance will be offered next week in Somerset and Hopkinsville, in addition to the Monday-Friday location in Frankfort.
Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4989 or on Twitter @mattglo. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mattg.
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