The number of Coloradans on unemployment spiked last week as thousands who were eligible for federal pandemic benefits were invited back into the system, according to data from the state Department of Labor and Employment on Thursday. At least 75,415 people on some form of pandemic benefits were able to reopen their claims for the […]
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How scammers targeted Colorado’s unemployment system — and what the state is doing about it
Like many victims of unemployment fraud, Duane Thomas only learned that someone had used his identity to file for jobless benefits when a strange 1099-G tax document arrived in his mailbox last month. He reported the mistake in an online form provided by the state Department of Labor and Employment. Within about three weeks, the […]
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Coloradans brave the cold to put a face on who’s been waiting more than six weeks for federal unemployment
Cherie Ripley made the drive from Colorado Springs Monday morning to Denver to tell the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment how it feels to be left out of federal unemployment benefits that she thought she’d be receiving by now. Two dozen other out-of-work Coloradans who’d heard her plea on a Facebook group joined her […]
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Colorado sets Feb. 22 for start of second phase of new federal unemployment benefits
The long-awaited rollout of federal unemployment benefits for those who have used up all other options now has a start date of Feb. 22, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment announced Sunday. “We know that many Coloradans are facing extreme economic hardships right now, and have been anxiously waiting for the ability to apply […]
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What’s Working: What we learned after a week of Colorado paying pandemic unemployment benefits
Colorado saw another intense week of job news with several examples of what’s working and what’s really not. As 230,000 out-of-work residents clamored to reopen their unemployment accounts on Monday, there was joy and pain, relief and frustration, clogged support lines and some who gave up and then got paid anyway. My conclusion: Nothing makes […]
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It could be weeks before Coloradans waiting for Phase 2 of federal unemployment see any benefits
As the first federal unemployment payments hit some bank accounts in Colorado this week, a number of unexpected problems emerged, prolonging the wait for thousands who have already been waiting for more than a month. And for everyone else unable to participate in this first round, the re-entry date for Phase 2 still appears several […]
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Unexpected issues continue to plague Colorado’s unemployment system
After getting back into the system on Monday, Kevin Saunders thought his request for the long-awaited federal unemployment benefits would fill his bank account within days. But no. He woke up Tuesday to find that all five weeks he’d requested for retroactive benefits were denied. “So they denied me for every week,” a disheartened Saunders […]
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The restart of Colorado’s federal unemployment benefits has been uneven as thousands wait for their turn
Monday brought relief to more than 60,000 out-of-work Coloradans who were able to request federal benefits for the first time in five weeks — and that included a $300 weekly bonus retroactive to Dec. 27, the start of the federal COVID relief package. “I was able to request all the way back until Dec. 27,” […]
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What’s Working: What happened after the Colorado Dept. of Labor emailed 230,000 people that federal benefits were restarting
Today’s column is pure, unadulterated unemployment news. For those who don’t care about that, come back next week where I hope to return to also discussing jobs, work and small-business news. But first, one small business update: as of Jan. 24, 6,812 small businesses in Colorado were approved for $664 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection […]
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Colorado’s rollout of new federal unemployment benefits is starting
Colorado’s labor department on Thursday began notifying the first group of out-of-work Coloradans that their federal unemployment benefits are getting ready to start. “We just started emailing about 230,000 people,” Cher Haavind, deputy director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, said in a message early Thursday afternoon. Members of a private Facebook group […]