DENVER (CBS4)– While the unemployment situation is dire across the country, Colorado’s disbursement of unemployment money appropriated by the Continued Assistance Act was slower than many other states.
(credit: CBS)
That’s because the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment took on a major technology upgrade in January that stalled hundreds of thousands of extended Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, payments until March. The CAA was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020.
READ MORE: Boulder Running Store To Donate 100% Of Net Profit From Shoe Sales To King Soopers Shooting Victims“There’s no good time to do an IT migration during a pandemic, and it would have been devastating and difficult in December, and it’s devastating and difficult now,” Gov. Jared Polis said of the upgrade.
A few years ago, Colorado had signed on to a tech upgrade agreement with Wyoming, Arizona, and Nebraska, called WYCAN, but that agreement was later dissolved because states determined a regional approach would not be effective.
CBS4 Investigates found Arizona was conducting regular upgrades on its own before the pandemic and was able to disburse PUA payments without interruption.
CBS4 Investigates reached out to all 50 states to see how Colorado stacks up.
(credit: CBS)
Of the states that responded, seven said they upgraded their unemployment tech before 2020, four upgraded during 2020, and three states admit they are still working on outdated tech. All of those states were still able to pay out PUA money faster than Colorado.
Like Colorado, many states still have eligible claimants that have not been paid.
In fact, Oregon and Nevada are facing class-action lawsuits filed by angry claimants who couldn’t get answers about their unpaid claims. Oregon just settled its lawsuit, agreeing to make sweeping changes to help its unemployed citizens.
READ MORE: 'We Will Cry With You': Widow Of Deputy Micah Flick Shares Open Letter To Officer Eric Talley's WidowIn Colorado, there has been talk of a similar suit, but so far, nothing has been filed.
Some state lawmakers admit more resources need to go to the CDLE, and Gov. Polis says his office will continue to help support the CDLE.
“We’ve already expanded the call center, we will expand that more, if the hold times become longer on average than 10 minutes or so,” Polis said.
But many people have been waiting much longer than 10 minutes – some up to three hours.
(credit: CBS)
The CDLE has hired more staff to handle call volumes, but people like Jasmine Bratton say they still aren’t impressed.
“I know that they’re doing the best they can, but it’s just, it’s really hard for somebody to believe that,” Bratton said.
Bratton was having trouble getting paid her extended PUA benefits in March, and struggled to get through to anyone on the phone for help. Once CBS4 inquired about her claim, she started receiving payments again.
MORE NEWS: Colorado Law Enforcement Escort Mother Of Officer Eric Talley Into ColoradoMeanwhile, some congress members are pushing for federal changes to standardize unemployment tech for all states to eliminate this patchwork unemployment system that has caused hardship for countless Americans during the pandemic.
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How Colorado’s Continued Assistance Act Rollout Of Unemployment Benefits Stacks Up To Other States - CBS Denver
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