State Lawmakers Seek Audit Over Complaints Over Unemployment Claims

State lawmakers want an audit of the state’s handling of unemployment insurance claims, saying they’re getting more calls from constituents complaining about the system.

During a recent meeting of the Legislature’s audit committee, Powers Lake Republican Rep. Samantha Kerkman said she was surprised at the spike in complaints she’d received about unemployment claims.

“More than usual,” Kerkman said. “As unemployment rates go down, I felt—why is my office getting more calls than we did in 2008 when unemployment went up?”

Lawmakers from both parties agreed, saying they’d been getting the calls, too.

Unemployment claims are handled by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), where Secretary Reggie Newson blamed the spike in complaints on a couple factors. Newson said the department received an influx of calls when Congress decided not to renew long-term unemployment.

There was another factor, too: “The weather. We had a very, very cold winter. We had a lot of calls come in about eligibility,” Newson said.

Newson said claims included people who worked at malls that were temporarily closed because of the cold, and bus drivers who were temporarily out of work because of school closings.

Labor attorney Victor Forberger, however, says there could be other factors at play. Forberger says the department, under the Walker administration, has been more aggressive at pursuing fraudulent claims to the point that it’s denying legitimate claims by people who make simple mistakes on their paperwork.

“DWD is taking this aggressive line with folks now and people are befuddled at what’s going on,” Forberger said.

Forberger also says the department has a lean staff that can’t easily handle a spike in claims.

Secretary Newson says his agency is in the process of modernizing and told lawmakers that any backlogs were already taken care of. Lawmakers said they were glad to hear it, but they wanted the audit anyway.