Kentucky promises retroactive payments for people delayed in unemployment filings

Kentucky will issue retroactive payments for people who are delayed in receiving unemployment insurance on schedule, as well as retroactive payments for the extra $600 weekly installments approved by the federal government.

JT Henderson, executive director of communications for the Education & Workforce Development Cabinet, confirmed Thursday that the state would make good on delayed payments for individuals who, through no fault of their own, did not get their checks on time.

The news may come as some relief to the countless number of people who have been delayed in receiving unemployment checks in recent weeks.

Phone lines for the local and state unemployment offices have been overwhelmed with calls, leaving many Kentuckians unsure of when, or if, they’ll receive unemployment insurance.

Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that 115,763 people filed for unemployment insurance in Kentucky last week alone.

Since mid-March, nearly 400,000 Kentuckians — more than the entire population of Lexington — have filed for unemployment insurance.

The flood of claims is the largest on record, and has left the state’s unemployment line unable to respond to many calls from people who have questions or concerns about their claims.

Among them are Cindy Thorpe, a hair stylist from Beattyville who owns her own salon with her husband.

Thorpe filed for unemployment on about March 25, one week after the state’s mandatory shutdown of salons, barber shops and many other non-essential businesses.

Since then, she has had to make cuts, including paying just half of an insurance payment on the building that houses her salon.

“We have to pick and choose what bills to pay,” she said.

Neither she nor her husband have received their unemployment checks since they first filed about three weeks ago, and they haven’t been able to get any answer from state or local unemployment officials.

According to Kentucky’s COVID-19 unemployment insurance page, people should receive payments automatically about two weeks after they file their initial claim.

Josh Benton, deputy secretary for the Cabinet of Education and Workforce Development, said the cabinet has increased its staffing from about 12 people to between 1,000 and 1,200, and continues to add staff daily.

Gov. Andy Beshear has repeatedly apologized for the issues during his daily press briefings, and said state officials are working every day to take as many calls as possible.

Even with the massive staffing increase, the state phone line has remained inaccessible for many worried unemployment applicants.

On Thursday morning, Thorpe’s husband spent nearly three hours on hold on the state’s unemployment line. Both she and her husband have left callback numbers on the phone lines, but have never received a call back, she said.

“I just cannot believe they can go this long without anybody even answering the phone or speaking to you, or literally getting back to you,” Thorpe said.

This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 11:25 AM.