LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Nevada Department of Unemployment, Training and Rehabilitation held its weekly press conference on Friday morning.
DETR released a report before the press conference, indicating there has been a slight decline in unemployment claims since last week.
However, hundreds of people have reached out to 13 Action News about the multiple issues they are facing when trying to file a claim and collect unemployment. Here is a sampling of questions we received today in response to a Facebook post.
One of the most common complaints is being unable to even reach a DETR representative via the telephone.
During the press conference, Director Heather Korbulic claims that robocallers are jamming its PUA phone lines.
She also said that the Alorica third-party call center is a “work in progress” and they are working closely with them to find ways to make sure legitimate callers are getting through. She also advised people to keep trying.
Regardless, the Alorica call center is not able to help with specific issues and has been referred to as useless by many claimants.
Another complaint we have received is about the adjudication process. Korbulic says there are about 33,000 claimants who have pending issues. She also said those claims are being worked on and should be resolved soon. Once again, we have received complaints from claimants who say they have no evidence their issues are being addressed.
Korbulic also emphasized the need for people to continue filing weekly claims to continue receiving unemployment.
Here are some of the questions we received from you and their answers, which are in bold:
- With Sisolak’s new announcement of using CARES Act funds to pay counties affected by COVID, will that affect the distribution of funds for those applying for and filing for PUA? These are separate funds and not at all related.
- Has the allocated State funds for UI been depleted? Is this the real reason why the phone system is being throttled, and pending resolution claims are being stalled? State UI funds come from State Employment tax dollars for UI, if the State Trust fund depletes there are other federal borrowing options being made available to the States.
- For several weeks mine has said it is pending resolution of deductible income. What exactly is that? You have reported separation income. After 4 weeks of filing your weekly benefits payments will start.
- What happens if your claim issue is past the 21 days provided but a decision still has not been made? The 21-day matter will be covered in the briefing. Your decision will still occur and timelines for appeal rights will be adjusted
- Why are newer filters being approved and receiving funds than those that filed when the website launched? Every claim is different. Some claims require review depending as a result of eligibility checks.
- What does DUA-UI on an active claim week mean? Please view our new glossary here: https://cms.detr.nv.gov/Content/Media/Glossary_of_PUA_FIN.pdf [cms.detr.nv.gov] Disaster Unemployment Compensation – Unemployment Insurance – verbiage used by vendor for PUA.
- Do [you] plan on opening an email for questions and open claim assistance since it is near impossible to get through on the phones? Both phone systems will be addressed on today’s call
- If you worked out of state for most of 2019, and came back to work in Nevada in October 2019, do you the person claiming have to call that state and get them to report your earnings? Or will DETR call that state to verify? For standard UI, DETR staff will make every effort to reach the other State. IF you have wage records from the other State you may also mail it in. For PUA you are expected to upload this information to your claims.
- What is the glitch that won't allow the adjudicators, payment processing department or the help desk to fix? Why does a case manager have to fix this error in order for pua claims to be paid? There is not a glitch, some issues are required to be reviewed by DETR staff in accordance with law and regulation
- Will I ever see my back pay?? Yes, DETR will back pay on all eligible claims to the date of eligibility
- If we truly are self-employed and work a contract gig, do we report that WE are our "employer" or the CLIENT who paid us? Is there any impact on the client we list them as employer? No impact, report this information as it would be reported to the IRS
- How does a person who's SS number does not align with their legal name (and can't get in the system) get help? DETR will try to verify name mismatches and may reach out for corrective steps to the claimant
- Why isn’t there any acknowledgment of receipt of documentation to update claims? DETR does not have a mechanism to notify of receipt of mailing.
- Why is there no call back feature for PUA phone lines? Our call center vendor does not offer this option.
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