For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
ROCKVILLE, Md., April 29, 2020—Today the Montgomery County Council sent a letter, spearheaded by Councilmember Will Jawando, to Governor Larry Hogan, requesting that the Maryland Department of Labor post additional metrics on the Division of Unemployment Insurance’s website regarding how long unemployment claims are taking to be processed.
The data that the Council requested be made public on the Division of Unemployment Insurance’s website includes the average number of days to process a new unemployment claim; average length of time for a new claimant to receive their first payment; average time at claims centers for a call to be answered by a call-taker; and average call times. The letter indicates that this data would provide residents with a better sense of what kind of wait times they can expect when filing an unemployment claim.
“At this time when many of our residents, including residents who were already vulnerable before the Covid-19 public health crisis began, face great economic uncertainty, we need to take the extra steps to ensure that unemployment claims are being serviced efficiently,” said Councilmember Jawando. “We understand that the Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance is processing an unprecedented number of claims. Our offices are also receiving a huge volume of requests for information about Maryland’s unemployment application system. Regularly providing this data publicly is one way that we can ensure we are being efficient, transparent and accountable to residents who are hurting financially right now.”
The letter notes that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent closures of nonessential businesses, there has been an unprecedented surge in unemployment, including over 32,000 new unemployment insurance claims filed in Montgomery County in the past three weeks.
The letter can be viewed in its entirety here.
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Release ID: 20-182