Some North Carolinians are still waiting for their first unemployment checks more than two months after losing their jobs.
They say they’re still getting the runaround from the state, despite the Division of Employment Security bringing in hundreds of new call center workers and keying in on the oldest claims.
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"Tuesday, I was on hold for 3½ hours, and then I got disconnected," said David Cordero, an engineering consultant. "It's hell. You have nowhere to go and nobody to talk to."
"It has been infuriating and anxiety-inducing trying to get through to someone to help," said Megan Salvo, who said she filed her claim April 14.
"It's just been like a vicious cycle, to be honest with you," said Maurice Jones, who was furloughed from his banquet job April 8.
Like many people, Jones has a theory about why his claim hasn't been paid. He thinks he misunderstood a single question on the intake form, and the answer makes it look like he doesn't qualify for benefits. He said he can't get anyone on the phone with the power to correct it.
"This can't go on forever," he said. "I'm not getting any assistance at all."
State officials say they're trying to plow through the backlog that built up as the DES dealt with unprecedented demand. The state went from an average of 3,200 new claims a week last year to more than 20,000 a day after coronavirus pandemic-related business closures began mid March.
Claims have dropped off, but still averaged 11,800 a day over the last seven days.
More than 1 million people have filed since since March 15 in North Carolina. Because some people had to apply twice for state and federal programs, more than 1.5 million claims have been filed in three months.
Gov. Roy Cooper replaced the division's head man late last month, tapping former state Rep. Pryor Gibson to take over. The division has a team prioritizing the oldest and most complicated claims, and DES spokeswoman Kerry McComber said they're making "solid progress."
The state has paid out $4.1 billion, just under $1 billion of that from the state and the rest from one of three federal unemployment assistance programs that were part of the federal CARES Act, a pandemic relief and economic stimulus measure.
On June 9, the division had about 57,000 claims more than three weeks old, meaning they were filed between March 15 and May 15.
As of Friday, that number was down to 32,000, McComber said. That's a small percentage of total claimants, but Gibson said recently that "we know we have not done the job that they deserve and they need."
Of those 32,000 claims, 6,660 date to April 18 or earlier. DES said Friday afternoon that its goal is to resolve all of those claims within the next 10 days.
Two people who reached out to WRAL News about their claims over the last week called back days later to say it was resolved.
"I woke up this morning, checked my account, and I finally got money in there from unemployment," said Michael Beatrice, who used to drive a Volkswagen dealership shuttle. "I finally got it after almost three months."
Rachel Freitas, who is 33 weeks pregnant, said she waited 11 weeks for her benefits. She said they hit her account, including back pay, on Tuesday. Now she worries that her normal 12 weeks of benefits, the cap for now in North Carolina, are about to run out.
"I may have to go through all of this again," she said.
Federal guidelines do indeed require people to file a second claim for an extension, which is one of three programs Congress funded to boost unemployment benefits around the country as part of the CARES Act. Part of the state's problem, the DES has said, has been coping with the various federal rules.
One of the federal programs, to help independent contractors and self-employed people not normally eligible for unemployment benefits, required the state to reject applicants first for state benefits. Then they needed to reapply, through the state, for federal benefits.
Another problem has been training private call center workers brought in to deal with the volume. Spokespeople for DES and its parent department in state government, the Department of Commerce, wouldn't say Friday where all those call centers are located.
Commerce spokesman David Rhoades said only that "a vendor" with a call center in Morrisville has advertised in North Carolina to fill open positions but "the current high demand for agents has necessitated tapping into resources in other locations."
'No one will answer'
In some cases state lawmakers, deluged with pleas for help, have gotten involved.
Sen. Ted Alexander, R-Cleveland, read a painful series of emails on the Senate floor this week from a woman who said she suffered a miscarriage from the stress of worrying "about how we are going to keep our home, our vehicles and even food on our table."
"We had savings, but not any longer," she wrote, "and no one will answer the phone."
The woman, who asked not to be named, told WRAL that she heard from the unemployment office the next morning "and they fixed our claim, and we should have it in a few days."
Many have reached out to WRAL and other media outlets, hopeful coverage would speed up the process.
"My claim is about to expire before I have gotten anything to show for it," Kaelee Hurts said in an email.
Hurts said she has bills she can't pay and that her bank charged her overdraft fees because she has drained her account. She has been told her claim is in good shape, she said, but it hasn't been paid.
"I didn't want to come to the news, but I feel hopeless, and don't know what else to do," she said.
David Burkhart has a condition that leaves him at higher risk for for COVID-19 and hasn't been able to work because of it. He said he filed for unemployment April 3 and didn't hear anything until he started calling DES a few weeks later.
"They wanted to argue with me and fight with me, and they said they would not escalate me to a DES agent and that I would have to file a callback form, which I have filed at least five to seven of them within the last two months, and I have never received a call back," Burkhart said.
Dianne Lancaster emailed WRAL to say she filed May 24.
"Yesterday, I finally got someone via the DES help chat program, and she told me that it could take up to 6 weeks," she wrote. "That is insane. How can anyone survive for that long?"
Michael Taylor said he's been unemployed since March 23.
"I filed my first claim and was told I wasn’t eligible," he wrote. "I filed a second claim and was quickly told the same thing as before. I filed a third claim under the (federal) PUA program on April 29th. It has been pending ever since, and no matter who I call or how many times, I am told nothing is wrong with my claim and I am good on my end.
"My wife and I have a 9-year-old boy and 3-year-old twin boy and girl," Taylor continued. "If it weren’t for family, we would be in some deep water. We have one vehicle that we have to make payments on, and we have sold everything we can to make the payment, but time is running out."
WRAL reporter Mandy Mitchell contributed to this report.