Warning about filing unemployment

[Lisa]

Just realized that the guy on the phone the other week was not kidding...he told me they were 6 months behind on the appeals submitted by the employers. More like 8 months! We are just now getting notifications on our appeals for claims filed in December. We are winning them which is good for us since the claims should not have been even accepted in the first place. But for the employee, it isn't all that good. They will have to pay back for any amount that was charged to us from the end of December until now. That could get rough on them.

7-8 months...that is an incredible amount of time to be behind. I think they need to fix this before they find other aspects of our world to handle.

Still get stupid claims to appeal...fired someone from stealing and she even tells them she was fired. Marked on the paper work. But we STILL have to file an appeal. Wow. Why would they even accept the application?

[Hawk]

Just realized that the guy on the phone the other week was not kidding...he told me they were 6 months behind on the appeals submitted by the employers. More like 8 months! We are just now getting notifications on our appeals for claims filed in December. We are winning them which is good for us since the claims should not have been even accepted in the first place. But for the employee, it isn't all that good. They will have to pay back for any amount that was charged to us from the end of December until now. That could get rough on them.

7-8 months...that is an incredible amount of time to be behind. I think they need to fix this before they find other aspects of our world to handle.

Still get stupid claims to appeal...fired someone from stealing and she even tells them she was fired. Marked on the paper work. But we STILL have to file an appeal. Wow. Why would they even accept the application?

Lisa, I do feel for you. "But", yeah, always the damn "but". it sounds like you are in the "right". But don't complain about "slow".

It sounds like someone for a smaller government who is actually FOR bigger government when they are involved. Sorry. But add more staff to the government payroll and they'll get caught up.

Republicans, "Cut government" . If you're for a smaller government then expect "getting behind" as normal.

[Lisa]

I'm just saying to fix the areas that the government handles before adding new items for them to handle.

[RamRod 1]

And one again, they're both right.

[Hawk]

I'm just saying to fix the areas that the government handles before adding new items for them to handle.

Oh...

I want the government to work for me... Not to worried about anyone else...

I'm really sorry. Why would anyone complain on a public forum about business ? I'm self employed, My son is self employed. But we get by without whining in public. /and I'm in the mood where I can't let go by that you want bigger government FOR YOU but NOT FOR anyone else. I really don't get it at all...

[Hawk]

I'm just saying to fix the areas that the government handles before adding new items for them to handle.

To fix it YOU MAKE IT BIGGER ! Add more personal...

[hicksjd9]

Blah blah blah political stalemate blah.

WHY CANT WE HAVE A POLITICS BOARD!!!! PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

[tornandfrayed]

Bill, Lisa sounds like she is simply stating her dissatisfaction with the state of the government. She is a member here and with that she has the right to state her opinion. Just as much as you do in yours. I think it is important for people to be able to come here and vent and get feedback from their peers or just blow off steam, it is kind of like "the club" in that respect. What is said here does not really need to go beyond these doors and it does not always have to be combative.

I feel your pain Lisa and there are a lot of things that need fixed. I hope you get through this with your sanity. Got an idea though, hire Bill to come and tune your piano and then make sure that Fox News is on the TV right by the piano the whole time....

As far as politics, the problem that you have there is that a lot of people who love music also care deeply about the world. The people who don't give a shit about anything other then playing in a bar on Friday night are the minority. Music has always been a haven for people who are passionate about not just their opinions but also about life. Sorry to say but politics effect us in very profound ways. We need to be politically aware and we need to be a bit more savvy politically then we already are.

Just saying that Rockpage, by being a music forum, is a soapbox for people. It is not just a forum but it is a way for people to reach out. It has all been said here on this board and it will continue to be what it is.

Those who decide to put their head in the sand and ignore the very things that control our ability to not only play music but speak our minds are not helping this country to become any more enlightened. It always starts with one voice and I would prefer that voice to be a little bit aware of what is going on around them...

[MeYatch]

that's like saying we should have Fartpage, because everybody does it.

It still fucking smells.

[Lisa]

Main point of my posting was to express concern that the unemployment compensation process takes over 8 months. During that time, it affects not only the employer who is appealing the claim, but also those employees who were granted money and will need to pay it back once the appeal is granted.

Can you imagine? If a person was to get $100 a week for 8 months and the appeal was approved, that person would have to make up about $3200 to pay back.

That is NOT a political statement but a statement of fact. It doesn't matter what the president and other elected officials are democrat or republican. It is a system that needs repaired. It is a system that has been broken for years! Many elected officials have come and gone in the time that this mess has developed.

Yes, I do realize that means hiring more government employees to help speed up the process and move the paperwork along. Fix it. Then when it is fixed, use it as a model for new programs that may need to be developed. But I surely do not want the same mistakes made for newly created programs.

As to people disagreeing with me here....I don't care. That is one thing I love about living in the USA. I can have a different opinion and feel free to speak it. It doesn't bother me that others like Hawk voice their opinions. He's not that important Just as I'm not that important in his life. I'm sure I would shake his hand and serve him a drink if he ever came to the bar and introduced himself. We will just avoid talking politics there.

[Colton]

Bill, you're grounded. Go to your room, and NO TV!

[lonewolf]

But add more staff to the government payroll and they'll get caught up.

That is an unfounded statement. What do you base this on? How do you know that their process isn't flawed? How do you know that their systems aren't mismanaged? Perhaps it could be too many staff running around stepping on each others' toes? You don't know.

How do you know whether or not the whole system is designed to perpetuate itself and the bureaucrats who run it?

You don't.

[f.sciarrillo]

But add more staff to the government payroll and they'll get caught up.

That is an unfounded statement. What do you base this on? How do you know that their process isn't flawed? How do you know that their systems aren't mismanaged? Perhaps it could be too many staff running around stepping on each others' toes? You don't know.

How do you know whether or not the whole system is designed to perpetuate itself and the bureaucrats who run it?

You don't.

Keith Olbermann told him?

[PanzerFaust]

that's like saying we should have Fartpage,

Shit!! I thought this was Fartpage.... I'm on the wrong Forum!!

[Naga]

You know,... Lisa was making a simple statement about the process being slow, and taking time and money. That is VERY true. A friend of mine who had a similar issue, trying to survive on everything she could scrounge up EVERY PENNY, was literally waiting in the dark with her kids for a LOOONG time. I helped her, and still am. Things are running slow, and unfortunately, there's little chance for help out there. She's recovering slowly. Had I not stepped in when I did, she SURELY wouldn't be surviving today. And I'm sure many of you have similar stories in friends. It's a sad time. I personally don't care which wing or which political type screwed it up. Like so many others, I just want someone to fix it

I hope I touched better on Lisa's post than what the finger-pointers have done

[ZappasXWife]

I am confused, can someone explain to me is it that people are waiting too long for their unemployment checks to start coming in after they file
(I may be filing for the first time in my life in the coming year so I really want to know) because I have heard you start collecting immediately even since this recession. Or is it the employers who are waiting who have filed appeals (which shouldn't be an issue here at my work). Like Hawk said, I don't care about that because it doesn't affect me. KIDDING! Calm down...

[Ron]

I am confused, can someone explain to me is it that people are waiting too long for their unemployment checks to start coming in after they file
(I may be filing for the first time in my life in the coming year so I really want to know) because I have heard you start collecting immediately even since this recession. Or is it the employers who are waiting who have filed appeals (which shouldn't be an issue here at my work). Like Hawk said, I don't care about that because it doesn't affect me. KIDDING! Calm down...

From what I get, it concerns the appeals process. If you're an employer and someone files a claim that you are disputing, it takes 7-8 months for your appeal to be ruled upon. During that time the employee is collecting money that they then have to pay back because their claim was rejected.

[Lisa]

Right...Ron explained it perfectly.

The employer is affected because the tax amount paid in to the "POT" is based on the number of claims and dollar amounts paid out. More claims, more tax.

The bigger concern would be to those employees who were paid for so many months thinking they were cleared for it and then be told they need to pay it back. I have never filed so I don't know what type of warning that may be given when you filed about the appeal process. If they were warned, and they still wanted to file on a false claim that stood a good chance to be appealed maybe it isn't so bad. But if the warning is not very strong and the person thinks they will just be granted this money without a chance of having to pay it back, then that is bad.

It should not take that long for the appeal process. We get the paper work within a few weeks and are issued only 4 work days to respond.

[lonewolf]

I am confused, can someone explain to me is it that people are waiting too long for their unemployment checks to start coming in after they file
(I may be filing for the first time in my life in the coming year so I really want to know) because I have heard you start collecting immediately even since this recession. Or is it the employers who are waiting who have filed appeals (which shouldn't be an issue here at my work). Like Hawk said, I don't care about that because it doesn't affect me. KIDDING! Calm down...

From what I get, it concerns the appeals process. If you're an employer and someone files a claim that you are disputing, it takes 7-8 months for your appeal to be ruled upon. During that time the employee is collecting money that they then have to pay back because their claim was rejected.

And Ron, ya know what the fundamental flaw is with this process?

When defining a process dealing with rules and exceptions to the rules, you allow subjects who fit the rules to pass thru while setting aside the exceptions for further processing.

In this case, the rule is that if you get laid off and meet other criteria, you get unemployment. These applications should be processed immediately.

The exception is if you get fired--few people who get fired actually qualify for unemployment. These applications should be immediately rejected and the appeal process should be the burden of the applicant to show why they are qualified. The appeal application should have specific questions to immediately eliminate those who do not qualify and only those few who pass the appeal application should be allowed to move on for further review.