Thousands of Kansans are struggling right now due to the nightmare that is the failed KS unemployment system. I am one of them!  The antiquated system which holds the only income many are dependent on during these difficult times, was discovered to be out of date & ineffective years ago & in early March 2020, it proved it could not handle the volume of claims nor the addition of programs being offered due to Covid. KDOL knew the volume would grow over the months & continued to ignore the problem by attempting to put bandaids on a broken system resulting in thousands of people not being paid their weekly benefits. Each time a new program is introduced the system glitches & fails, resulting in more delays of payments. 

Not only is the system itself severely broken, but the Contact Center isn't properly managed either.  It is next to impossible to get thru, the representatives have zero knowledge & no valuable instructions on how to remedy delayed payments or system issues.  It has been 7 weeks since I received benefits. In that time, I have placed over 1200 calls, starting at 7:55am-3:30pm & have only got thru to a representative 3 times. All of which I was on hold for up to 3 hours just to be told it was a system glitch, a ticket would be made & that's all the info they had. This is the second time since June, my benefits have been delayed. The first delay was for 5 weeks of nonpayment! 

People are struggling! It is the holidays & the eviction ban will be lifted at the end of December! This is not only keeping families from eating & living, it is affecting the health & wellness of some, it's ruining people's credit & will ultimately leave many homeless in January! And if that's not bad enough, KDOL has made the decision to "trigger off" the extended benefits program on December 12th, two weeks before Christmas! (The original date to end the program was December 26th). 

KDOL has known the system was broken for years and have continued to ignore the severity of the problem. They continue to perform "bare minimum" targeted maintenance that has yet to solve the overall issue in getting benefits paid out, take holidays & remain completely silent. No word from Governor Kelly, Secretary of Labor, Ryan Wright, Director of Unemployment, Laurel Klein Searles or Director Amy Selm.

KS residents continue to receive a number of responses from KDOL workers when they are able to get thru to a representative.  Everything from blaming the delay on the number of fraudulent claims they have to sift thru to a variety of coding glitches. This is not OUR fault & and the people of Kansas should not be punished for their negligence.

KDOL must be held accountable! The next step is a coordinated march to the front steps in Topeka, or a class action lawsuit, to demand not only honest answers from Gov. Kelly but to hold her and the KDOL to an immediate remedy before more people's lives are ruined! 

PLEASE SIGN & SHARE THE FOLLOWING PETITION to demand the accountability of the KDOL & hold them to a speedy resolution for the people to receive their benefits, as well as remedy any damages incurred due to their lack of action, leadership & transparency during this difficult time.