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FOX 11 Investigates: Wisconsin DWD plans to modernize unemployment insurance system


The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) website. (WLUK)
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) website. (WLUK)
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MADISON (WLUK) -- Last year, many desks sat empty as employees worked from home or were laid off from their jobs because of the pandemic.

Now the economy is recovering, but some people are still dealing with the aftermath of unemployment.

Green Bay resident Stacie Colon first applied for unemployment last March when the pandemic hit. She says she didn’t receive any benefits until August.

“I have three kids to support, so again it’s the unsurity of you're going to get evicted or is your water going to get shut off, your phone, your only means of contact, and then they had all this online schooling so how are you going to afford to pay for the internet?” Colon said.

Now, Colon is still waiting on unemployment benefits from November when she filed a second time. She says her claims are pending.

“I have called and all the answers I get are there’s nothing wrong with your account. We can schedule you a call back. I’ve talked with managers, I’ve had callbacks," Colon said.

She says no one seems to be able to tell her why her claims are pending, and it's frustrating.

The Department of Workforce Development says it's taking steps to prevent delays like this from happening in the future -- it comes with an estimated $80 million dollar price tag to modernize the unemployment insurance system, according to DWD Secretary-Designee Amy Pechacek.

DWD has about $2.5 million in federal grants secured and is hoping to receive more from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, according to Pechacek.

Gov. Tony Evers requested funding for modernization in his upcoming budget -- but state Republicans removed it.

“The unemployment division was handling the 12 million claims associated with the pandemic on 1970s mainframe technology. We are literally talking about the black screen with the green blinky cursor," Pechacek told FOX 11.

Pechacek says the long-term overhaul will take an estimated five to six years to complete.

“We’re going to do them in segments, iterative process, so that people can start to feel the benefits immediately as we upgrade certain aspects of the system," Pechacek said.

So far, DWD has implemented a portal upgrade where claimants can upload documents rather than mailing them and can send messages to DWD.

The agency will also overhaul its call center by this September. For some people, getting ahold of unemployment insurance was near impossible at the height of the pandemic.

“Our call center had very limited capabilities and capacities," Pechacek said.

The Legislative Audit Bureau found from March to June of last year, only 0.5% of calls to unemployment were answered.

“We will have a fully modern call center with 24/7/365 capability where individuals can call and get information, real time information, on the status of their claim," Pechacek said.

“At FOX 11 we get emails from people, even now, who have been waiting months for benefits. How exactly will this stop those issues?” FOX 11 Investigates asked Pechacek.

“It’s these efficiencies that we've been able to gain through the claims portal, through the document upload system, through the secure messaging, that really cut a lot of those weeks of waiting to get additional information to move a claim to the next step," she replied. "Having the ability to have a modern system that when new benefits come either from the federal government or from state law we can program them more quickly and get them out the door so they can really be in the hands of the people that need the help when they need it.”

Victor Forberger is an employment attorney in Madison who has been dealing with unemployment issues long before the pandemic.

“The secretary’s office is trying to turn things around, but it’s a big ship and it’s going to take a while," Forberger said.

He’s concerned the changes won’t make a difference if people don’t have access to broadband internet.

“You have to have this internet connection, and it has to be pretty fast because you have to be interactive, so a satellite dish isn’t going to work," Forberger said.

Colon hopes she gets her benefits soon.

“What do you want to see from DWD?” FOX 11 asked Colon.

“People that actually know what they’re doing. It’s hard to actually get ahold of a representative without getting a run around," Colon replied.

See frequently asked questions about unemployment here.

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