LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Today, the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) announced that nearly 217,500 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) ineligibility claim determination notices will be sent in the next three weeks.
Staff have been working to verify the identity of PUA claimants. If identity cannot be validated, these cases have been determined to be ineligible for benefits. Individuals have the right to appeal this determination.
Individuals who have erroneously received a determination, have no verification issue or have already verified their identification are not required to file an appeal and are asked to contact the PUA call center at 775-298-6007. Call center agents will work with DETR staff to address these particular claims scenarios and resolve issues as quickly as possible.
DETR has identified a large number of questionable claims. In order to best address suspected fraud, DETR has flagged and reviewed these claims. Where a claimant’s identity cannot be validated, DETR has determined these claims have been found to be ineligible and they won’t be processed further.
TIMELINE: Nevada Dept. of Employment and handling of pandemic unemployment claims
In each case, the claimant either did not follow through with an ID.me request for information or the claim was flagged for questionable identity. DETR has contracted with ID.me, a secure, identity verification platform, to confirm claimant identifies. Individuals who received a message requesting identity verification with ID.me are encouraged to respond by clicking on the green button and following instructions to verify identity.
Filers who receive notification of claim determination will get information about how to file an appeal at the same time. A request for appeal typically must be filed within 11 days after the date of mailing of the notice of determination of claim. DETR has currently waived the 11-day deadline due to the significant number of potential fraud claims. PUA claimants can file their appeal online at EmployNV.gov by clicking on the link to for more information on unemployment benefits on their claimant dashboard and then clicking on the “Appeals” link listed in the Unemployment Services screen.
Claimants are reminded to continue to file weekly claims for unemployment benefits while the appeal is pending in order to receive payments if the appeal is decided in their favor.
