CT Coronavirus: Unemployment Checks To Be Processed Much Sooner

CONNECTICUT — Unemployment benefit processing will now take a week or less for most people thanks to some programming wizardry on the state Department of Labor’s 40-year-old computer system. The original wait-time was estimated at six weeks.

“This required hundreds of hours of programming due to the complexity of the 40-year-old COBOL system, but the effort has certainly paid off as thousands of residents who applied for benefits will receive an email from the Labor Department, notifying them that their claim has been processed and next steps to follow,” said DOL Commissioner Kurt Westby.

Connecticut, like many other states runs its unemployment system through an ancient mainframe that relies on the Cobol computing language, which is no longer widely taught.

DOL ran a successful batch test of 5,000 automated claims Tuesday night that was successful, Westby said. DOL will run a 60,000 claim test Wednesday night and if that is successful processing time should be down to a week or less going forward, he said.

Gov. Ned Lamont also announced that the additional $600 in unemployment benefits from the federal government along with self-employed unemployment benefits will begin later this month.

Connecticut has received more than 350,000 unemployment benefit claims since March 13, which is the typical amount over a two-year period. About 174,000 of the applications were manually processed before DOL’s computer fix. The state has distributed more than $107 million in unemployment benefits so far; the typical amount during the time period is around $15 million.

Anyone who has applied for unemployment benefits is urged to monitor their email for a notification from the Department of Labor directing them to take action on next steps in order to receive their benefits (be sure to check any spam or junk folders as well). Don't miss local and statewide news about coronavirus developments and precautions. Sign up for free Patch alerts and daily newsletters from all across Connecticut.

To receive the benefits in the fastest way possible, claimants are advised to utilize direct deposit to have their benefits sent directly to a checking or savings account of their choice. In contrast, due to the national pandemic, a shortage of debit cards could cause an additional three-week delay for the vendor to issue the card.

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What about self-employed and independent contractors who filed for unemployment benefits?

State officials said more work needs to be done for people who are self-employed and who have filed for unemployment.

In the past, self-employed workers didn't receive unemployment benefits but now they will. However, the state needs to build a new "system," and officials hope to have it in place by April 30 so applications can be processed. Benefits will be retroactive to the date a person needed to apply.

When do unemployed workers get the extra $600 a week from the federal government?

Westby said the processing for the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which adds $600 in federal stimulus funds to every weekly state benefit payment, is scheduled to begin April 24. Again the extra federal benefit is retroactive to the date a person needed to apply.

“I want to thank our dedicated group at the Connecticut Department of Labor who have worked tirelessly this past month, providing both innovation and expertise in order to meet these challenges with success,” Westby added. “During this time of stress and uncertainty, our employees continue to place a high priority on serving others.”

Patch editor Rich Scinto contributed to this story.