State official testifies to pay delays, frustration
Labor secretary says department working as quickly as possible
The coronavirus pandemic, and the statewide business shutdown it caused, forced millions into unemployment.
And for many across Pennsylvania that has meant a mountain of frustrations and headaches. They say the calls they make to the unemployment compensation office are greeted with a busy signal, the emails they send go unanswered and the online chats are instantly disconnected.
Labor & Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak got a chance to share his perspective Wednesday. He was invited to a hearing held by the House Labor & Industry Committee to highlight the progress that has been made at the department and address the problems still facing the unemployment compensation system.
State Rep. Jim Cox, a Republican who serves as chairman of the committee, said his committee called the hearing to take a closer look at the issues plaguing the system and what lawmakers can do to help fix them.
Oleksiak testified that the department has been working as quickly and effectively as possi
ble to process the unprecedented number of unemployment claims.
Since March, nearly 2 million Pennsylvania residents have filed for unemployment benefits. The agency said that the state has paid nearly $24 billion to about 98% of those who have been deemed eligible for benefits and have received at least one payment.
Based on those numbers, that means there could be some 40,000 workers who were either deemed ineligible or who are still waiting to speak with someone about their claims.
Oleksiak told the committee the biggest challenge in the beginning was that the 770-person department had too few people to process the claims in a timely manner.
He said staff was rightly sized for a relatively good economy with record low unemployment but was unprepared when the pandemic hit.
He pointed out that there were 40,000 new claims filed during the three weeks before the statewide shutdown was ordered and more than 1 million claims filed in the first three weeks after the shutdown.
“The speed, scale and scope of this recession make it different than any other in American history,” he said. “No industry, no region and no community has been unaffected by this public health crisis that has surged across Pennsylvania and around the world. It is a global pandemic with global economic repercussions.”
There were also some logistical problems the department has faced getting people set up to work from home and working with an outside vendor to build the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance filing system from scratch.
The department has been bolstered by new employees and now has 1,656 people working to clear the claims. Staff has worked 242,000 overtime hours, Oleksiak said.
Oleksiak said his staff has responded to more than 737,000 emails, answered more than 340,000 phone calls and performed almost 126,000 live chats since March 15. Staffers have also hosted seven virtual town halls for those seeking more information.
And the department has created an online troubleshooting guide for people based on the issues they have heard and what are the most commonly asked questions.
“These numbers represent significant progress that has only been possible because of the herculean efforts of our staff to provide much-needed benefits to Pennsylvanians,” he said. “Despite the facts and the numbers that I have just shared, some legislators have told us that nothing has been accomplished since the beginning of this global pandemic. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“To be sure, this process has not been perfect. But any allegations that the shortcomings of the system are the result of inaction, apathy or idleness on the part of public servants who have kept the benefits flowing in the middle of a global pandemic are recklessly misguided and misinformed.”
Complicating the process even more, Oleksiak said, is that Pennsylvania was one of many states scrambling to stop scammers from stealing millions of dollars in fraudulent claims.
He said the department worked with federal agencies to put a stop to the fraud by halting some claims for further review and, in the process, has prevented more than $28 million from reaching criminals.
While it’s been a rough road to this point, Oleksiak said there is some good news.
He told the committee that the department has taken several steps to improve the system in an effort to prepare for a possible resurgence in the months to come. Those changes included bringing on even more agents to process claims; hiring an independent firm to conduct a study about the appropriate level of workers needed to process claims; and creating a virtual assistant to help respond to questions.
“But I’m the first to admit that none of the progress I have outlined matters if you are someone who is anxiously waiting to receive benefits,” he said. “We welcome the opportunity to take constructive feedback about how we can adjust and improve our system to better serve Pennsylvanians.”
Following his presentation to lawmakers, Oleksiak fielded more than a dozen questions from the committee. Here’s a few of the more
What is the plan to reduce response times and release payments?
Oleksiak said his team will continue to do what they have been doing as quickly as they can. He stressed that the system in place is working as well as can be expected and acknowledged that it will simply take time and patience to get through all the claims that are still waiting to be processed.
“The fact that we have cleared the amount of claims that we have does not speak to any kind of mismanagement,” he told the committee. “That remaining 2% is an issue for us and we want to deal with that. But our record actually compares extremely favorably to what’s happening across the country.”
What can state lawmakers do to help speed up the process?
Oleksiak welcomed the opportunity to talk with legislators about possible changes in the law that could be made but conceded that the department is completely focused on processing the current onslaught of claims. notable inquiries:
“As far as what specifically we would like to see happen, we’re just not ready to do that now,” he said. “We would certainly want to work with the Legislature to see what we can to improve and streamline the system. I’d also point out that much of the rules and regulations we have to follow are made at the federal level, which is a much heavier lift to get done as you can imagine.”
Are partial payments considered among the 98% processed claims?
Oleksiak confirmed that those who applied for benefits and who have only received partial payments are in fact included in that figure.
People who have received partial payments have only been provided some of the money due to them and are still awaiting the rest. Several lawmakers said they have had an abundance of constituents who fall into that category and are having problems understanding what the holdup is.
Oleksiak stressed that each claim is unique and could not provide a blanket statement about why this is happening.