KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas Department of Labor has faced a multitude of issues due to the onslaught of unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic and what officials say is an “antiquated system.”
Monday morning, KDOL Secretary Delía García resigned and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said she plans to bring in specialists to help identify and prevent future errors.
The action is seemingly prompted by months of problems, which Kansas residents told 41 Action News makes it difficult to trust their government.
March
In an early sign of what was to come, increasing unemployment claims caused the KDOL's website to crash.
At the same time, the department said it had begun hiring more employees to handle the influx of unemployment claims, though many residents continued reporting extreme difficulty getting through to anyone on the phone.
April
Unemployment numbers in Kansas began to skyrocket in April when the department reported an 11.2 percent unemployment rate.
Hundreds of thousands of Kansans who lost their jobs, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, experienced problems filing claims with KDOL, and while the department increased its staffing from just 20 workers to 150, employees were still faced with a massive call load.
In an effort to combat technical difficulties, the KDOL rolled out a new system for claimants to file based on their last names.
As the department confirmed a 26-week unemployment benefits expansion was in effect, KDOL said it had discovered some people who were eligible for a $600 payment from the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program had not received the money due to a technical error.
Unemployed Kansans experienced further difficulties applying for federal assistance through KDOL when the department launched a new website for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.
May
The Kansas unemployment rate remained high but fell to 10 percent in May.
Department leaders were optimistic the economy's tentative reopening would alleviate some of the stress on its systems, and said Kansans could expect back payments in their accounts by the end of the first full week of the month.
The state was playing catch-up as many residents reported delays in receiving their payments.
June
KDOL's problems continued into June, though much of the state had reopened.
Some Kansans said they were becoming increasingly frustrated with the department and its appeals process, while scammers posing as KDOL employees compounded an already complicated situation.
The department continued to experience some bizarre technical issues, including an instance in which about 8,000 claimants, some of whom don't have children, saw a child support deduction or addition on their claim status page.
Last week, some claimants were surprised to find their bank accounts in the negative and with overdraft fees. Those claimants told 41 Action News they received an email from KDOL saying the department had made duplicate payments in error and was rescinding the misplaced funds. The department issued an apology.
Kelly said Monday the "clawback," as it's referred to, was made without her consultation.
The KDOL is working to identify and reimburse those claimants hit with overdraft fees. The department is also setting up a hotline for those affected.
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