LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At the beginning of the week, the Kentucky Labor Cabinet said there were close to 72,000 unemployment claims still needing to be processed.
For March alone, there were still around 4,200.
How many of those are still in the phone “que” the cabinet said it couldn’t give us an answer to that.
WHAS11 political reporter Chris Williams asked the question at Tuesday’s press briefing by the governor.
“I don’t have that information with me,” Labor Cabinet Dep. Sec. Amy Cubbage said. “Everyone who had a remaining March claim has been reached out to in the past two weeks.”
That’s not entirely accurate, according to Joseph D’Amico, 27.
“It can’t be true,” D’Amico said. “I haven’t received any contact and I filed in March.”
In fact the laid off freelance audio/visual technician says he received two approval letters with different amounts of unemployment benefits, but has yet to be paid.
D’Amico also points out that many of his freelance friends haven’t been contacted as well.
“Everybody just wants an answer,” he said.
That desire is echoed by other filers left in the dark who’ve looked to FOCUS for help.
“After three months, it would be nice to hear from somebody,” Noel Helm, 63, said. “Is it yea or nay, that’s all I need to know.”
Joe Mathews, 49, says he still hasn’t received almost $16,000 for 16 weeks of backpay, let alone a callback.
“None, that automated call everybody else is getting, that’s about it,” Mathews complained. “There’s nobody to talk to.”