Wisconsin DWD makes unemployment strides after COVID-19 backlog
WISCONSIN - Thousands of people were left frustrated and waiting for unemployment insurance benefits in Wisconsin during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was a backlog the state said was in part because of an outdated system. Now the state says that the system is more user-friendly. However, there are still more improvements to be made.
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At the time, you could only mail or fax in required documents to be put into a decades-old system.
"Now we have overhauled so many portals and functions," Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Amy Pechacek said.
Thanks to more than $30 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, they are modernizing and expanding access, including to those who speak different languages.
An updated employer portal is also set to be rolled out in the coming months.
"All of this has increased our efficiency, our timeliness, and our responsiveness to the people we work for, which is the people of this great state," Pechacek said.
Pechacek touted the improvements at a roundtable at Gateway Technical College alongside the U.S. Department of Labor.
Jose Javier Rodriguez, dept. Of labor employment and training administration assistant secretary
"Number one, to protect against fraud, but secondly, also to improve information technology – to make sure that it functions – but also access to benefits," said DOL Employment and Training Administration Assistant Secretary José Javier Rodríguez.
Labor attorney Brenda Lewison said benefit hearings are scheduled within a couple of weeks, not months.
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But she hopes changes are made to provide work search waivers to seasonal farmworkers, like trade workers, and give unemployment navigators more power in helping people file claims.
"It’s just another impediment to people acquiring benefits that they’ve earned," Lewison said. "This isn't something where it’s a handout or welfare."
It’s feedback the DOL said it will take back and study.
"We issue guidance, provide funding and do monitoring," Javier Rodríguez said. "We have to study the impacts of guidance and policies, as it impacts all."
On the horizon, the DOL plans to roll out a new way for ID verification, including at U.S. post offices.