Workforce Solutions flooded with 586,000 calls

Mar. 31--The state Department of Workforce Solutions received more than 586,000 calls Monday through 2:30 p.m. following approval of federal funds that will allow contractors, the self-employed and gig economy workers to apply for unemployment.

The call number was so high because many people called repeatedly for hours trying to get through, several applicants told The New Mexican.

Many people applying for unemployment benefits were also stymied by the website, which often locked them out.

Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley said people are issued a temporary password when they first apply and might not have entered the correct password. After three tries, the applicant is locked out.

Applicants also said they were mystified by the 14-minute YouTube instructional video on how to apply online, complaining the video did not correspond with the website. McCamley acknowledged an older video was on YouTube for the first five or six hours.

Many of the callers Monday were unemployed contractors, self-employed people or others who qualify for unemployment benefits for the first time through the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on Friday. Workforce Solutions is asking these people to refrain from filing an unemployment claim or calling the Unemployment Insurance Operations Center at this time because the agency is not yet ready to deal with these new categories. This may take a few weeks, McCamley said.

"This is not something where we can flip a switch and turn it on," said McCamley, adding the system still needs to be set up to handle these new categories. "We need an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, plus we need to get training for staff."

The federal provisions add 13 weeks of unemployment benefits after the state benefit period runs out plus an additional $600 per week to benefit payments for four months.

These provisions apply to workers losing jobs directly because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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