WICHITA, Kan. – One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the same complaints since Day 1 continue for Kansans when it comes to filing for unemployment benefits. Some are unemployed Kansans are still not receiving benefits and cannot get through to the Kansas Department of Labor on the phone or online. As Eyewitness News found, these problems continue, even after KDOL started two new programs from the federal CARES Act extension.
For Kenneth McRay, four months have gone by without a single check from the Kansas Department of Labor.
“They came on TV and said they are going to be issuing payments. Well, I don’t know too many people who are getting their unemployment,” he said. “When I look at the website, they ow me 13-14 weeks in backpay. “I’m concerned. Bills are piling up.”
After KDOL started the CARES Act extensions the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs, some are still waiting on payments.
“We were told it would resume in about two weeks in January. Then two weeks turned into a month, and now we’re three months in,” McRay said. “It’s just pathetic. I’ve had a rougher experience with KDOL than I have with the whole pandemic.”
McRay called his state representative for help and was cleared within days, but that was last month.
“That was on the 18th of last month, and here we are now, almost to the 18th of March, and I still haven’t gotten payment yet and nobody has reached out to me,” McRay said.
KDOL said it’s paying both the PUA and PEUC out and is working to eliminate the backlog. But the same stories continue from unemployed Kansans.
