The House Labor and Industry Committee recently held a meeting to determine why thousands of people who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to receive unemployment compensation (UC).
W. Gerard Oleksiak, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) secretary; Robert O’Brien, L&I executive deputy secretary for administration; and William Trusky, deputy secretary for unemployment compensation programs, testified.
The administrators testified about the percentage of people who received UC, the amount of money that has been disbursed through UC programs, the number of new workers the department hired, and the number of times they communicated with applicants.
“My colleagues and I have heard from people in our districts who are eligible for benefits, but they just can’t get through the process,” committee chairman Jim Cox (R-Berks/Lancaster) said. “They tried applying online, and the system was down, so they’d try to call and there was no answer. These are good, honest, hard-working people who just want to keep a roof over their heads, pay their bills, and put food on the table. Their stories and their struggles are truly heartbreaking.”
Keith Welks, Pennsylvania Office of the State Treasurer deputy treasurer for fiscal operations, testified on how the agency is working to ensure benefits reach their intended recipients.