From 12 to 1,200, state ramps up number of employees to handle unemployment claims

Kentucky will increase the number of employees tasked with handling unemployment insurance claims from 12 before the outbreak of novel coronavirus to between 1,000 and 1,200 by the end of the week, according to Josh Benton, deputy secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

That increase comes as a response to the historic number of Kentuckians who have filed for unemployment in recent weeks, straining the system well beyond its capacity and leaving many applicants either unable to file for unemployment or unsure of the status of their claims.

“If we need more (employees), we’ll add more,” Benton said.

During the last week of March, a record-breaking 112,726 Kentuckians filed for unemployment insurance — up from less than 3,000 applicants during a single week in early March.

The influx has left many residents frustrated and struggling to pay bills as the phone lines and website used to file claims have crashed repeatedly over the past several weeks.

Many who are unable to file received “false negative” response letters from the state, which tell the applicants that they do not qualify for unemployment insurance even if they actually do qualify.

Benton said residents should disregard those false negative letters.

“We apologize for that, nobody should be getting those denial letters,” Benton said.

Scott Kennedy, a bartender who lives in Boone County, said he tried to file for unemployment for two weeks before he was finally able to get his claim through the system.

When he calls the state and local phone lines for the unemployment offices, no one answers, he said.

“It’s crazy,” Benton said. “I called the number and it says ‘high call volume,’ and it clicks off.”

The number of claims reported by the U.S. Department of Labor does not include the number of Kentuckians who, like Benton, have been out of work but were unable to file until recently.

Gov. Andy Beshear apologized Tuesday for the failures of the unemployment insurance system and said his administration is doing everything it can to correct those problems.

“Keep letting us know when there are issues — it’s our job to fix them,” Beshear said.