Can the state's unemployment system be fixed? If so, how?
The Maryland Department of Labor’s distribution of unemployment insurance benefits has been so badly mismanaged that state lawmakers and the state’s entire congressional delegation are still baffled as to why 18 months into the coronavirus pandemic thousands have yet to be paid and some cannot even get a claims representative on the phone despite having made repeated calls.
To be fair, the department has made some significant reforms, such as beefing up staff at call centers and expanding hours of operation, fixing software glitches, and compensating claimants whose claims were stuck in “adjudication purgatory.”
But problems remain and citizens are still in that purgatory, and a pervasive solution has yet to be found. And the extent of the problems raises questions as to whether the department can actually come up with a comprehensive solution even to basic problems such as how do you get someone to answer the phone.
MarylandReporter.com asked several of the state’s lawmakers, many of whom have spent hours upon hours in related oversight hearings and dealing with constituent complaints to identify what steps they believe should be taken to fix the state’s unemployment insurance system.
Read more: https://marylandreporter.com/2021/09/02/can-the-states-unemployment-system-be-fixed-if-so-how/