LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — On Monday, I brought you a story on the challenges with Nevada's unemployment system during the COVID-19 pandemic that left thousands in the state without an income overnight.
Former Gov. Steve Sisolak spoke with me about that system, saying that COVID brought an unprecedented need that Nevada never could have anticipated. He told me even now — five years later — the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) is still broken.
Watch my interview with former Gov. Steve Sisolak here
But that's not according to the current administration under Gov. Joe Lombardo. His office reached out to me directly following the publication of my story, claiming the current administration inherited a broken system from Sisolak, and significant progress has been made to remedy the fallout brought by COVID.
Referring to DETR, Sisolak told me that "if you think it's fixed, it's not fixed," going further to say:
"Yeah, it's [DETR] definitely a problem. I hope that we'll never need it like we needed it then. I mean, you never would have anticipated handling the number of claims in a week that you normally would handle in a year. I mean, I was going through staff at DETR. They were quitting. They couldn't take it anymore. They were getting abused."
In response to those comments, Gov. Lombardo said:
"When I took office, fixing DETR was a top priority of my administration, and I immediately appointed a new director. Over the past two years, we cleared the pandemic backlog, reduced the DETR vacancy rate to under 10%, and have modernized internal DETR processes and systems. DETR is more prepared than ever to serve Nevadans efficiently and effectively."
Lombardo's office claims that all DETR backlogs from COVID are complete, and adjudications and appeals are now at the DOL standard.
Watch Darcy Spears' investigation into the DETR backlog from COVID
New to this administration is an overhauled unemployment computer system. Phase one of the NUI (new unemployment insurance system) rolled out in February 2024 and the second phase it set for this summer.
Lombardo's office claims these changes and a modernized approach to the system have led to progress — improved DETR vacancy rates, better BDA case processing, consolidated EmployNV hubs and increased funding for workforce programs, to name a few.
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