As nearly 25,000 more people filed for unemployment in Kentucky last week, tens of thousands more are still awaiting payment on weeks- to months-old claims.
There were 24,628 new claims for unemployment filed during the week ending June 20, according to federal data released Thursday.
That figure is the lowest tally since mid-March and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but still well above the 2,000-3,000 claims normally filed each week.
Meanwhile, there remains 6,700 March claims unresolved, 25,000 from April and 17,000 from May, according to JT Henderson, spokesman for the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
Those who are waiting on their state unemployment claims to be approved also have to wait for the extra $600 per week being provided by the federal government.
Due to federal guidelines, July 19-25 is the final week for the additional federal unemployment payments.
Henderson said that if people are still awaiting payments by the end of July, they will receive back payments that include the federal $600.
Kentuckians continue to reach out to Reader's Watchdog for help as they await a reply from the state's unemployment office.
Stuck in a 'twilight zone'
Approaching two months of unemployment without benefits, Charli Hamlin's savings are running low. Her phone pinged last week with a notification of her latest bank account withdrawal and balance.
The number struck her. Without the $1,200 check she received from the federal coronavirus relief package back in April, that latest withdrawal would have caused an overdraft.
She would have zeroed out her account.
“Right now, it’s OK that I have to give rid of Disney+. That’s not a big deal,” she said. “But it will come to bigger things if I’m not helped. That’s what freaks me out. That’s what my mind can’t process.”
Hamlin, 29, is a chef manager in Morehead, Kentucky. Her position is largely event-based — events that disappeared with the onset of the pandemic.
She remembers sitting at her desk in early April when the email hit her inbox. She was being furloughed for 30 to 90 days.
Though she went to file for unemployment soon after, it wasn’t until late April that she was able to successfully apply. Then, her claim went under investigation.
More: In-person unemployment help to be offered in several Kentucky cities in following weeks
Confused, she scanned news articles and scrolled through Reddit threads for reasons why this could be.
Then, on June 1, her online account told her that her claim had not been submitted. It was as though her claim disappeared, she said.
She filed another claim, but that, too, went under investigation after the state unemployment office asked her to submit documents that could help verify her identity, which she uploaded to her online profile.
Over the weeks, she’s called and called, unable to speak with anyone who can tell her what’s wrong with her claim.
“It’s like I’m stuck in some weird twilight zone,” she said. "I’m completely blind in this situation, and I don’t like that. That’s caused a lot of my anxiety."
New numbers: Kentucky had 24,628 new claims for unemployment during the last week, making for a decline
'It's a snail slow process'
Steve Dattilo, 60, said he's been waiting for benefits since May 2.
Dattilo, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, left his part-time job at a Lexington convenience store in April after discussing the possible move with his doctors.
“It’s a danger to my life working on the front lines with customers,” he said. “But I love my job.”
His claim has been “under investigation” since May, but he has no idea why. Dattilo said he’s checked with his employer, and it is not protesting his claim, which is one of the reasons a claim can be designated as under investigation.
“It’s a snail slow process, and I don’t understand why they can’t get a me a letter telling me what 'under investigation' means,” Dattilo said.
As he waits for answers on his claim, his savings have dwindled.
He’s fallen behind on rent payments and his car insurance. His disability benefits alone don’t cover all his expenses.
He’s filed for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps but hasn’t yet heard back.
“This stress is great,” he said.
'I think about this every day'
Randy DeAngelis, who works part time as a food sample demonstrator at Costco, said he was furloughed when the pandemic hit and big-box retailers ended food sampling.
He applied for benefits on April 4 and has not yet seen any payment. When he logs into his online account, as he does every day, his claim is listed as “under investigation.”
The state asked for documents to verify his identity, which he submitted. Still, no check came.
He did get through to an unemployment representative in mid-May who told him a higher level employee would need to clear up an issue with a duplicate claim.
Related: Coronavirus pandemic: Kentucky may need to borrow billions to pay unemployment benefits
Though he first applied in April, his online account appears to show his first claim was in May, leaving him to wonder when — if — he eventually get paid, if he’ll miss out on his April benefits.
After retiring in 2009, he went back to work in 2016 to help supplement his social security income.
There’s just $87 left of his check from the federal coronavirus relief bill.
“I think about this every day,” DeAngelis said.
'I would think by now I would hear something'
Maria Perkins, 54, was between jobs when the pandemic hit Kentucky's economy.
She left a job as a bilingual customer service representative in February. The Boone County resident was offered a new position soon after, she said, but it was put on hold due to COVID-19. Then in April, when it appeared she would not be hired, she filed for unemployment benefits.
“I just need to know if I qualify,” she said. “Thank God I had money saved. I don’t know what would have happened to me.”
She’s burned through thousands in savings and is nearly out, she said. She fears she may be evicted next month if she’s not able to generate income.
COVID-19 has made it very difficult for her to find work, Perkins said. Applications for jobs in her field, as well as positions in bakeries and warehouses, have gone nowhere, leaving her exasperated.
Finding little success picking up the phone, Perkins said she wrote a letter last week and made copies of her unemployment paperwork, sending it certified to a Frankfort unemployment office.
“I would think by now I would hear something,” she said. “Someone needs to take a look and let me know. At least I would know that my concern every night laying there waiting for an answer, I can forget about it.”
Her son, who will be a high school senior in the fall, was able to find work at a drug store.
“It breaks my heart that my son is having to go out and look for money to help us out,” Perkins said, her voice trembling. “Children helping their parents instead of the parents helping the kids. But it is what it is.”
Matthew Glowicki’s Reader's Watchdog column helps readers get answers and holds public officials, businesses and individuals to account. Contact him at watchdog@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4989 or on Twitter @mattglo. Support Reader's Watchdog by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mattg.
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