Indiana Workforce Development may be deleting ‘mass emails’ from claimants
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Department of Workforce Development‘s claims investigators may have been instructed to delete a mass of emails from claimants reaching out about unemployment issues, according to someone who claims to be a department employee.
The employee has been monitoring one of the Facebook unemployment help groups and sent this in a statement to claimants: “Reiterate that they must file the oldest vouch first BEFORE they do their new UI claim. We have also been instructed in adjudication to delete all mass emails from claimants. We are not able to answer or work them.”
Workforce Development gave I-Team 8 this statement:
“As stated on our website and communications with claimants, the DWD 1800 number (1-800-891-6499) or AskUIContactCenter@dwd.IN.gov email is the appropriate channel to seek information on a claim. Once the claimant’s particular issue is assigned to a claims investigator, that claims investigator will reach out to the claimant and/or employer as necessary to adjudicate the issue. It is important to note that not all claims investigators can resolve all issue types. Sending mass emails copying 100s of random DWD staff only slows down the orderly processing of claims.”
Jennifer Glynn, who has been running a Facebook Unemployment Help Group, says the hotline and unemployment email have been useless. She says the mass emails started out of desperation when people were waiting more than 15 weeks for a response as to why they have to repay tens of thousands of dollars after they were deemed eligible for pandemic unemployment.
“How can they get the help if they can’t get a hold of anybody because their emails are being deleted?” Glynn said.
She says the best thing anyone can do right now is reach out to their local state senator or representative. Glynn says she was not surprised when I-Team 8 found Indiana has only waived $412 between the months of April and June in unemployment overpayments.
“I don’t have a reaction to that. There are no words. There’s no leniency at all.”
Workforce Development says it has collected 3,700 waiver applications since November. However, those applications are not specific to pandemic unemployment. The Department tells I-Team 8 that they are still working on collecting the number of pandemic unemployment applications.