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More Unemployment Money Flows In Arizona, But Not To All In Need
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Sky Schaudt/KJZZ
An Arizona Department of Economic Security office in north Phoenix.
Trista Dugie was let go from a company dispatcher job on April 3 and applied for unemployment insurance the same day. She’s not received a payment. Nor has she been deemed ineligible.
Dugie and others told KJZZ that right when phone lines open in the morning can be the best chance to reach someone at the state Department of Economic Security, or DES.
“When you call them, you have this like one-minute period of where you can get through at 7 a.m.,” she said.
Trista Dugie
Trista Dugie is among more than 500,000 Arizonans who filed initial unemployment claims since mid-March.
The experience with DES started well, Dugie said. The social services agency helped her get approved for food assistance and health care. Dugie has rheumatoid arthritis. Her wrist is fused. She’d restarted low-dose chemotherapy just before losing her job.
“My doctors have told me I need to stay in. If I go out, I need to wear a mask. But not to go out,” she said.
On the unemployment side, there’s been a holdup having to do with Dugie’s previous employer, who she said DES contacted about her requests for food aid and health care.
“It’s beyond frustrating,” she said.
When Dugie finally got an update from DES, she was told her unemployment claim had not been assigned to an adjudicator. The Mesa resident shares an apartment with her sister, who’s been supporting them both.
“It won’t be enough to take care of our bills,” she said.
Dugie is among more than 500,000 Arizonans who filed initial unemployment claims since mid-March. The state is on track to send out nearly $1 billion in about a month. Both are grim new precedents caused by the coronavirus pandemic. They’ve led to frustration and anxiety for people needing help from the state.
DES declined an interview for this story. In a statement, the agency said since the pandemic started, 200 people have been added to the team answering unemployment calls on extended hours. This includes a private call center that’s been contracted. More staff have been added to process applications, decide eligibility and send out benefits.
Howard Fischer/Capitol Media Services
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey speaks at a May 12, 2020, news conference.
Gov. Doug Ducey was asked about the unemployment system at a May 4 news conference on state policy tied to the pandemic.
“So no excuses on this. This has just been such an astronomical rise,” he said.
Ducey promised that temporary DES boss Tom Betlach would get any money or tech resources needed for the unemployment system.
“But I know there are folks that need to talk to someone, and we’re gonna fix it,” the governor said.
Betlach has decades of experience in state government and came back from retirement so the head of the Arizona Department of Health Services wouldn’t have double-duty during the pandemic. He is at least the fourth person to lead DES under Ducey.
At a May 12 news conference, the governor volunteered an update on unemployment.
“There have been a crush of applications overwhelming the system, but dollars are moving out to individuals that need it,” he said.
The state is on track to send out nearly $1 billion in about a month. A big chunk is federal money for certain people who don't qualify for regular unemployment. Starting a system for that had to be outsourced, and the launch this week hit a bump.
DES also apologized because some state-aid recipients recently didn’t get the $600 federal dollars they were due.
When asked about these kinds of problems, Ducey said people will be paid.
“We are making fixes along the way. We are surging servers and computer resources and new employees,” he said.
Joseph Treanor also started a new job this year. He’s run lots of restaurants over the years and likes to teach people on specs and procedures.
Joseph Treanor
Joseph Treanor said he got seven weeks of back pay from the state on May 13, 2020.
“And I really like developing the younger servers and bartenders. Kind of getting them in the hustle. Making that money,” he said.
Treanor was in an eight-week training process. He hoped the new path could lead him to corporate leadership. Then the coronavirus landed a haymaker on the restaurant business.
“And everybody is just basically told, ‘Go home. There’s nothing for you,’” he said.
Treanor filed for unemployment in late March and also said the process went smoothly at first. But no money came.
"Overall, it’s just frustrating. And then just the inability to talk to an actual person," he said.
On May 10, Treanor finally spoke with someone at DES, and learned the hold-up had to do with confirming his last job. He’d been living off his 401K, and the savings he’d stashed for when he becomes a father in July.
“Just to keep the roof over my, keep the groceries in. I’m paying my bills,” he said.
Treanor said he got seven weeks of back pay from the state on Wednesday.
The total number of Arizonans getting unemployment benefits is unclear. When asked, DES did not answer how many people will have received them by the end of the week.
KJZZ's Katherine Davis-Young and Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services, contributed to this report.
