Indiana unemployment concerns go unanswered; 1 office open by appointment only
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two weeks ago, a Marion County judge ordered the state government to continue with federal pandemic unemployment benefits that stopped in June.
That reinstatement has yet to happen, the state is fighting it, and the Department of Workforce Development can’t tell anyone when or if the program will start again.
On Wednesday, News 8 asked for an appointment to speak to Fred Payne, the leader of the department. On Friday, News 8’s interview request was denied.
Workforce Development showed News 8 the door on Wednesday, and not the door to the commissioner’s office. Since Wednesday’s report, News 8’s social media pages have been overwhelmed with people who have received letters from Workforce Development demanding repayment of unemployment benefits. News 8 has interviewed two: Lynn Moreau, owner of the The Eyelash Place, and a government contractor, Lisa Sales.
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The department has received and distributed $8.8 billion of unemployment money since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020.
The office of Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, has restricted or blocked access to Commissioner Payne for months, which is the reason News 8 came to the Government Center South building on Wednesday and knocked on doors trying to get answers for Hoosiers.
Those Hoosiers include Danita Owens. She began helping her brother navigate the unemployment system after he lost his job in 2020, but now the state wants most the money repaid.
“It doesn’t make any since. You don’t pay people out and then turn around and say you got to pay it all back due to documents not being received because they were,” Owens said.
News 8 has heard from several people who received a letter from the state demanding repayment. These Hoosiers have been asked to submit proof of employment, which entails uploading documents through the Department of Workforce Developments website.
Owens helped her brother upload the documents and even took the documents to the Department of Workforce Development in person.
“They asked that it be either W-2’s or paystubs. That information was uploaded, and it stayed up there up until the day before he got the notice to pay it back, and then all of a sudden it went away when he went to the office to check on that. They stated they didn’t see anything,” Owens said.
Owens believes Workforce Development has an technology issue keeping documents from being viewed once they are uploaded through the unemployment portal.
Here are the questions News 8 sent directly to the Department of Workforce Development on Friday:
- How many self-employed, gig workers, contract workers have been sent letters asking to repay money received from the Department of Workforce Development?
- What did they do wrong?
- How many have appealed?
- Is there a known glitch in the system generating these letters?
Only one question was partially answered Friday: The department said its system is working properly. Also, again, the department said the commissioner was not available to answer News 8’s questions.
Workforce Development takes up almost half of the first floor of the Government Center South building. From what News 8 can tell, only one office is open to the public and Hoosiers have to make appointments to go inside. All other offices are guarded by security personnel. The result for Hoosiers: Getting answers in person is tough.