2. News Room

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
CONTACT: DWD Communications, 608-266-2722
On the Web: http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/news/
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WIWorkforce
On Twitter: @WIWorkforce

Excerpts From Secretary Caleb Frostman's Remarks to the Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform

MADISON — Below are excerpts from Secretary Frostman's statement at the Senate Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform Information Hearing. Sec. Frostman addressed the committee beginning at 11:00 am today in room 412A at the Wisconsin State Capitol:

I am hopeful that we can continue working together to find additional solutions in real time to expedite the payment of eligible claims in the weeks and months to come.

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Between March 15 and May 10, 2.4 million weekly claims were filed in Wisconsin. For comparison, DWD received 311,000 weekly claims during this same period in 2019, representing a 670% increase. Of the 2.4 million weeks claimed, approximately 1.7 million have been paid, representing 72% of all claims. There has been much misrepresentation regarding the balance of unpaid claims, so I am happy to clarify the types of weeks that fall in that remaining 28%. Making up that remaining 28%, 11% have been denied due to ineligibility and just under 1% are under suspension for a previous UI overpayment, which leaves 16% of all claims held, representing our ongoing case load.

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Stretching out the hours might have spread some of the call volume, but with the same level of personnel, it would have also spread the number of available staff on the phones over any given period, providing no additional relief to claimants. Whether it's answering calls, processing approved claims, or adjudicating held claims, it takes people to perform all those tasks. And it takes people and time to make those new hires. Due to the amount of personally identifiable information UI staff handle, those hires must pass a rigorous background screening, including for some positions, a federal fingerprinting background check. In order to provide solid information and assistance to claimants, those hires must be trained and trained well, which also takes time and additional people to be trained on the training.

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While it has publicly been suggested to take shortcuts and make payments quicker, our statutes, which require legislative action to change, do not allow it. The federal government does not permit this. The Department of Labor has consistently enforced a requirement that UI benefits only be paid when due and not to pay benefits until all issues that affect an individual’s entitlement to UI are adjudicated after giving both the claimant and the employer the opportunity to be heard during the adjudication process.

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... the most prominent constraint of COBOL and what has most affected claimants is that its programming and testing for enhancements and new programs can only be performed in a linear and sequential manner. Thus, testing and onboarding of new programs cannot be performed simultaneously, affecting the timing of delivering system enhancements and new state and federal programs.

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Please, let's invest in our UI systems and infrastructure.

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We've all seen the consequences of deferred action, and we need to make sure our system is prepared for the next time Wisconsinites need to access the economic lifeline of unemployment insurance.

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As we have since March, the team at DWD will continue rising to meet these historical challenges with compassion, urgency, steadfast dedication, and with the needs of Wisconsin's claimants top of mind.

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View Secretary Frostman's full remarks