BRISTOL, Conn. — The new unemployment system in Connecticut has been up and running for just over a week now and many FOX61 viewers have been reaching out to us with issues trying to file their claims, receive benefits, and get a hold of a representative.
"Everything was running smoothly until they changed the system," said Amber Schryer of Bristol.
The new system, ReEmploy CT, serves around 115,000 businesses who pay into the Unemployment Trush Fund, on top of unemployed workers who are eligible for benefits.
The old system used by the labor department was more than 40 years old and continuously crashed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic because it could not handle the volume.
However, two weeks in, it has many people across the state still empty-handed.
"I didn’t receive anything. I reached back out it says wait times are over 100 hours," said Schryer.
She's a mom of two boys and says hasn't gotten any payments since June 26, the week before the new site was launched.
"It’s a little hard. I suffered a stroke in April, I’m a single mom, I look forward to those payments," said Schryer.
She was told her payment would be here on Tuesday, but is still waiting and can't actually connect with a representative.
"I’m hoping it doesn’t continue to be an ongoing issue throughout the process they have for their new system," said Schryer.
Another viewer who wished to remain anonymous had similar issues: "The system boots you off you can’t get a hold of anybody. The wait time for a call back is anywhere from 132 hours to 174 hours."
With costs continuing to increase, without these benefits, FOX61 viewers said they're concerned and are feeling left in the dark.
"I know I’m not the only person frustrated and angry about this and I know I’m not the only person in debt," said one viewer.
We've reached out to the Department of Labor several times and were told representatives are too busy for an interview but they did say they increased their staff to handle the volume of calls. There are 140 agents helping people each day.
A spokesperson said in part, “Between 30-50% of our appointments are duplicates that are causing delays for other claimants—and staff time because we have to go in and open appointment blocks manually for people who have held many different times.”
In order to reach a representative, they say it's important to not schedule more than one appointment. Some people are holding up to 10 appointments at once.
Instead of calling and waiting for a callback, they say it's faster to go online and schedule an appointment for a callback on their website.
If you already have an active claim, instead of opening a new one, fill out your weekly certification.
Benefits normally take around three to seven days to come in.
ReEmploy CT has already seen around 18,000 unemployment filers so far and has given out more than $8 million in benefits.
Customer service hours have been extended and representatives will take calls on Saturday beginning at 7 a.m., but the fastest way to reach someone is through an online appointment.
At this point, the earliest appointments are now Tuesday, July 19. The link to schedule one is here.
Lindsey Kane is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at Lkane@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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