(Madison) – Thousands of Wisconsin residents are still waiting for the Evers administration to process their unemployment claims, many have waited since April. On Monday, Senator Alberta Darling and Representatives Janel Brandtjen, Jim Ott, and Dan Knodl sent a letter to the Evers Administration asking for the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to further utilize the tools provided to the administration to shift staff between agencies as well as expand call center hours.
“I’m grateful to see DWD is implementing Google Cloud to help ease the massive backlog of cases, but we’ve heard excuses before,” Darling said, “This doesn’t change the fact that thousands of families in Wisconsin have been waiting months and months for money they already paid into the system.”
A recent news story highlighted the struggles of Brittney Gitzlaff of Menomonee Falls. Brittney is still waiting for answers from the Department of Workforce Development – eight months after filing her claim. Representative Janel Brandtjen says the Evers administration is hurting families like the Gitzlaffs.
“Brittney and her family are needlessly suffering,” Brandtjen said, “Let’s get her the unemployment she paid into for years.”
Hundreds of constituents have reached out to our offices – some experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, issues with mental health, and trouble accessing critical medications. Representative Ott says many families can’t wait much longer.
“It’s time for DWD to finally deal with the unemployment benefit backlog,” Representative Ott said, “Our constituents need to pay their bills and put food on the table.”
Back in May, DWD promised to fix the backlog by October. That hasn’t happened. Representative Dan Knodl says more needs to be done.
“Families across Wisconsin have been suffering due to the inaction of the Evers Administration,” Knodl remarked, “The unwillingness to utilize the tools available has left many claimants waiting months to receive the benefits they’ve earned and now the Administration hopes to have the backlog cleared by the end of the year. These timelines are unacceptable.”
You can read the letter to Governor Evers here.
