Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
‘They’re not taking care of us as promised’
The encouraging May jobless numbers will take heat off of Nevada unemployment officials, but that shouldn’t save their bungling bureaucracy from the intense scrutiny it deserves.
The Labor Department announced Friday that the U.S. economy added 2.5 million jobs last month, pushing the unemployment rate down to 13.3 percent from 14.7 percent in April at the height of the pandemic. The figures surprised many economists who had predicted the country’s jobless rate could hit 20 percent as a result of the coronavirus-induced economic coma. In fact, it appears a recovery has begun.
“It’s the jump and then the crawl,” Nick Bunker, who leads North American economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told The New York Times on Friday, “and the question is how high is the jump and then how long does the crawl take.”
Nevada was the epicenter of the collapse, leading the nation in April with a 28.2 percent unemployment rate. The pandemic devastated the state’s meal ticket, the gaming and tourism industries. But hopeful signs abound — and are poised to continue, given the reopening last week of many Strip and local casinos. For the week ending March 21, a record 92,200 Nevadans filed for jobless benefits. In recent weeks, however, the figure has steadily declined, falling to fewer than 14,000 for the week ending May 30.
The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, like similar agencies in other states, was understandably unprepared for the onslaught of unemployment claims. But nearly three months after the shutdowns began, the agency continues with a Keystone Kops routine that has left thousands of frustrated Nevada workers still awaiting benefits while futilely trying to get answers from state officials.
“I haven’t been able to pay rent for two months,” Victoria Waked, an independent contractor who has struggled with the unemployment process told the Review-Journal. “I’m a single mom. I have a kid with a disability. I was quarantining, following the rules. I was all for it because I don’t want my son to be sick, but at this point, why? They’re not taking care of us as promised, as we’re entitled to.”
While many people such as Ms. Waked continue to suffer, unemployment officials trot out numerous excuses, including an obsolete computer system, application mistakes and various manpower and technical issues. Heather Korbulic, whom Gov. Steve Sisolak appointed interim director of DETR in April, even blamed certain wireless carriers for the incessant busy signals many callers repeatedly encounter when trying to file for benefits or seek status updates.
The governor himself has had little to offer desperate Nevadans other than his repeated mantra of “patience,” which doesn’t pay the bills. The system should be running 24/7 by now. It’s not. Many states temporarily relaxed the burdensome review process to speed payments. Nevada did not. Confusion over how to treat gig workers led to additional issues. Workers complain that communication and guidance from the agency are sporadic and difficult to follow. Through last Wednesday, the DETR had paid out only 20 percent of pending claims under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for independent employees.
The fiasco escalated on Friday when technical glitches forced the agency to cancel a live briefing intended to help workers navigate the system.
As unemployment claims drop and many workers return to regular employment, the department will have a chance to catch up in the coming weeks. But the agency’s inexcusable performance over the past three months goes beyond the pandemic crunch and has exposed glaring weaknesses in both management and service delivery.
It’s not feasible, of course, to fund and staff the DETR at levels necessary to competently handle a 100-year event. But at the very least, lawmakers and state officials must make it a priority during the 2021 legislative session to evaluate the agency’s performance and to prepare a feasible contingency plan in the event that such a scenario ever hammers the state again. Nevada workers deserve better. Much better.
The fiasco escalated on Friday when technical glitches forced the agency to cancel a live briefing intended to help workers navigate the system.