Labor Department did what was necessary

After reading recent articles regarding the state Department of Labor and unemployment insurance benefits, I feel compelled to write this letter, having worked in the department more than 20 years ago.

At that time, the management and staff were dedicated to making certain that benefits were paid promptly and properly; it appears this is still the case. I am not a fan of fraud, but I am a fan of the labor department's recent actions to get money to those in need to enable them to pay for their nondeferrable expenses such as food, housing and other essentials.

The telephone call load was 16,000 times the normal workload. Without a relaxation of the hiring rules or the rules for benefit eligibility, it does not seem possible that as many claims would have been processed or that as much benefit money would have gotten to the many people in dire need. Even in the best of times, it will not always be possible to get everything exactly right.

When did we become so unkind and stingy that we prefer to err on the side of not helping someone so as to avoid the possibility of helping someone who doesn’t need it? Let’s give people the benefit of the doubt, especially during a pandemic. Let’s view things as if it were our relatives or our friends whom we care about who need some help. The labor department can sort out the fraud later.

My heart goes out to both the unemployed and to the stressed-out work

ers at the labor department. These are extremely difficult times.

Joan Durso Latham