By Sierra Hunter
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Thousands of Marylanders testified in a virtual hearing to members of the State Senate Tuesday about their frustrations with the slow response time to unemployment claims.
The nine-hour Zoom conference was the first time the public was able to share their experiences applying for unemployment insurance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first 270 citizens to join the hearing testified before the Budget and Taxation & Finance committees, while the remaining 830 attendees exercised the option to pre-record their testimony and questions to the panel.
The information presented in the hearing will be used for the Economic House Committee meeting Wednesday with the Department of Labor officials said.
“This hearing is supposed to provide transparency and understanding about what is going on [in] peoples’ lives and being to advocate for those citizens with the governor, with other parts of government to ensure they get the best possible service,” said Howard County democratic Sen. Guy Guzzone.
Committee Chair Delores Kelley said, “The problem is not the workers for the Department of Labor, those people are trying really hard. They are frustrated as we all are, but the system is overloaded, it is breaking down, and of course, you aren’t being served well under these circumstances.”
Nearly one in five working Marylanders has filed for unemployment since the state stay-at-home order forced many Maryland residents out of work and school, officials said.
Maryland system “was not designed to deal with this scale” of claims, said Sen. James C. Rosapepe of Prince Georges County who is vice chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee.
This sentiment was echoed by Gov. Larry Hogan last month when he apologized to residents who were struggling to file.
“The IT contractor who developed this site, and the Department of Labor, have fallen short of the high standards that we have set, and the people of Maryland deserve better, and the buck stops with me,” said Hogan.
Not all are happy with the governor’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Sen. Benjamin Kramer, a Montgomery County Democrat, vehemently criticized Hogan’s response to unemployment in the hearing stating, “this rests at the feet of Gov. Hogan. It is Gov. Hogan, who is at the top of the food chain. It is his administration. It frustrates me when I hear Gov. Hogan says everything is fine. We got it all worked out.”
Kramer added, “On a daily basis, I am getting emails and phone calls from constituents saying Sen. Kramer I am desperate for help, I am desperate for relief.”
Maryland Department of Labor had only updated the website once since the massive influx of unemployment claims, leaving some Marylanders who initially found success in the older filing system frustrated when the state converted to their new online system, Beacon One-Stop.
Stephanie Adams, a single mother, described a stop in payments after the switch to Beacon due to incorrect information on her account.
“I have no money anymore,” Adams said. “I am about to lose everything, my car, and potentially get evicted. I am trying hard to keep things together. I wish there were a way to go back to the old system.”
Edward Henderson said he has been trying to get a hold of unemployment for weeks.
“Every time I go through the system, it just kicks me out,” Henderson said. “It won’t even let me get past the first part. It almost discourages you to even want to try. You try so much. But I am having faith in y’all in getting it together.”
Other testimonies described being on the phone for hours in the hopes of reaching an employee for assistance.
Maryland resident Bliss Marten described waking up every morning at 6:30 before the call center’s 7 a.m. open time to get in the call cue only to find the efforts resulted in little to no progress.
“I sat on hold for eight hours, no one ever answered, and I finally gave up,” said Marten.
Many in attendance said they were more successful in getting answers from Facebook groups than from state organizations.
“Unfortunately, the State Department has made it so complicated that very intelligent, very hard-working, very focused people have not been able to figure out the system,” Rosapepe continued. “We need to start looking at ways to cut the red tape.”
According to the Department of Labor’s website, the state has paid $327,649 in unemployment insurance claims since the pandemic, in which 90% of claimants have received payment within 21 days. More than $165 million in relief was awarded to 56,000 Pandemic Unemployment Assistant claims since Saturday.
Tiffani Belleggia said she was forced to take a leave of absence from her job as an occupational therapy assistant to take care of her sons, one of which has a congenital heart condition. Belleggia said she has yet to reach anyone about the status of her debit card or received any assistance with unemployment.
“I have worked since I was 14-years old, and I am just asking for a little help to get through this tough time until I can go back to my job. Please help me,” Bellegia said.