Lawmaker says NC commerce has the money to handle unemployment backlog better

NORTH CAROLINA — N.C. Senator Jeff Jackson says a “tsunami” hit the N.C. Department of Commerce, which handles unemployment claims.

He says that "everyone” was sympathetic at first, and that the agency has done a lot to handle the inlfux of claims, but now his patience is wearing thin.

He told Action 9's Jason Stoogenke Commerce is handling ten times the number of claims it normally sees. He said the agency added staff -- from roughly 500 to 2,600 people – and a chat function.

According to Jackson, some of the people taking calls work for Commerce while others work for an outside call center, called Maximus.

Commerce is using the call center to help handle the call volume, which is good, but Jackson said, they don’t have the training the Commerce employees have, so they only know “marginally more” than the callers themselves.

Plus, Jackson said Commerce has about 600 people processing claims, which he says is not enough, and that’s why so many people are still seeing “pending.”

>> Have questions about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the Carolinas? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak -- CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

"I can’t tell you it’s just not functioning over there. It is. They’re ramping up. It’s just not fast enough," he said. "I think they need to take a step back and say, ‘Ok, to actually accomplish our mission, here’s how many people we are going to need.’ And then you just go out and you hire that many people. And it’s going to be expensive and you’re going to have to train a lot of people and it’s going to be a major on boarding process, but you have to do it because the stakes are too high to fail."

Stoogenke asked Jackson if Commerce has the money to do it. Jackson said, "They do. They have the money to do it." More specifically, the General Assembly allocated $70 million for a few things, including the unemployment backlog.

Stoogenke asked Commerce for its response. It hadn’t responded by 2pm Wednesday.

>> We’ll bring you LIVE updates on Channel 9 Eyewitness News. Get extended coverage on the free WSOC Now app on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV.

Kimberly Mantelli told Stoogenke she’s been applying for unemployment since March. "Every time I talk to an agent, they’re telling me the same thing. Yet all the information is there. I have no determination. Nothing. Nothing nothing nothing," she said. "I don’t know what to do. I really don’t. I really don’t."

“I have $10 left to my name. I have $10 left to my name,” she added with tears in her eyes. “I need my medicine. Not going to be able to afford my medicine. And I have exhausted everything.”

Some people making more money on unemployment benefits than at job Some people making more money on unemployment benefits than at job

© 2020 Cox Media Group