With barrage of jobless claims, 2nd shutdown by Gov. Inslee would be grim | Editorial

The number of COVID-19 cases in Washington state is climbing out of control, Gov. Jay Inslee is considering another stay-home order, and the extra $600-a-week in federal unemployment benefits is set to expire July 25.

This is a catastrophe in the making.

We know Inslee’s focus is on slowing the spread of the lethal coronavirus — and rightly so. But if he is going to put the state through a second lockdown, then he must first make sure there is more support for people in financial distress.

At the very least, the state Employment Security Department must be in a position to handle another surge of calls that is sure to come from people struggling to get unemployment benefits.

Last spring, the agency was overwhelmed and could not manage the tens of thousands of callers trying to get through to a human being at the agency. In addition, fraudsters found a way to set up false unemployment claims that diverted hundreds of millions of dollars away from needy state residents.

Much of that stolen money reportedly has been recovered, but that is of little comfort to those who are still waiting for their unemployment benefits. And while progress has been made, there are still people who qualify for assistance that have yet to receive a penny.

Gov. Inslee’s stay-home order came quickly last March, and the Employment Security Department had no time to prepare. The system failed thousands of people who spent day after day trying to get through the jammed phone lines with no luck. They couldn’t even leave a message.

All they could do was wait and hope someone on the other end eventually picked up. If they did make a connection, the calls often ended up dropped when transferred to another department.

Eventually, employment officials decided it would be better to focus on managing the backlog of cases and limit the number of incoming calls to the agency. So for the past three weeks, people had no choice but to wait and hope Employment Security called them.

Initially, the call center was limited for two weeks, and people were told it would open up again July 13.

But those who called on that day were surprised to find that agency officials were extending their focus on the backlog for another week.

People could still call to start a new claim if they lacked internet access, contact the fraud department, or file a new claim. But still, many people have issues and were caught off guard that they wouldn’t be able to talk to someone until July 20.

In its defense, the Employment Security officials told the Tri-City Herald that they have been 90% more efficient in resolving claims when focusing the team on outbound calling. They also said that they have been able to “reduce our unpaid queue from 81K to 29K” between June 19 and July 15.

While that is encouraging news, we still feel for all those who have yet to receive the help they need. One positive note is that even though the extra $600-a-week unemployment benefit from the federal government is set to expire at the end of next week, people who should have been getting that bonus can still qualify and get it regardless of when their issues get resolved.

That is some relief, to be sure. But too many people have felt abandoned during the coronavirus crisis, and the threat of a second lockdown and more job losses is a huge concern.

Businesses can’t make it without customers, and the small reopening the Tri-Cities is experiencing doesn’t include everyone.

Wineries and breweries and bars are not allowed to open if they don’t have kitchens, and some owners didn’t realize this until they already had sunk money into prepping for outdoor seating and hiring workers back.

A second shutdown is going to hurt worse than the first. Businesses that have been barely hanging on will go under if they are forced to scale back.

With COVID-19 deaths climbing in the Tri-Cities and statewide, Inslee said Thursday that a second stay-home order may be coming.

Before he goes down that road again, he should make sure Employment Security is better prepared.

Employment Security workers should not be put in a position of handling another wave of phone calls from a second lockdown when there are still people who have yet to be helped.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 12:57 PM.