Joe,
I have to share this with you. Recently I made the decision to lay off two of my employees. It came after great consideration that I decided I had no other option. Both Employees have been with me for over a year and it was like breaking bad news to two friends. I have been making the required payments to the State of Maryland AND the federal government as required because I didn't want to be the subject of an audit or fines. BUT when my guys went to file for unemployment they were instructed to wait until the following quarter and file again. This notification was made by mail with instructions to call a number if there were any questions. Both employees have been trying for the past week and a half to call but never get more than a busy signal. Both employees have worked continuously for me since they became employed. Since I learned of this I have had the occasion to speak to several people who are experiencing the same issues with unemployment. It seems that the rumors I'm hearing may be true. Unemployment is running out of money and they are denying everyone initially as a matter of unwritten policy, in order to save money and to keep the number of new people signing up for unemployment falsely low to make it appear that the economy is getting better when everyone who is in business knows that isn't the case. My employees have resorted to writing letters to unemployment, but letter writing doesn't feed their families. Have you heard of anyone going through the same thing?
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
23 comments:
Mine was interrupted at the beginning of this month with the same instructions. I tried many times a day to get through on that phone line, many times timing my push of a button on the choice menu exactly at 8:00:01, and got the busy signal every time. If you push it at 7:59:59, the instructions are to call back during business hours.
Yes, they are running a "show" and manipulating us all.
This all happened AFTER the deadline to file a written complaint, so pay attention to that, too. Fortunately, mine automatically picked back up on its own, but I expect future manipulation.
I had a need to call the unemployment people yesterday and had the same problem with a busy signal. I refused to give up and just kept on calling. Finally, after about 30 minutes I was connected to a representative who helped me. Good luck to your employees. It's very nice of you to try and help them.
This is an absolutely terrible situation! Our government does very little "right". I do expect them to hold up their end of the bargain. Employers pay unemployment taxes so the government needs to take care of business sooner rather than later. I wish we could vote in a completely new government... President, Vice-President, Cabinet, the Senate and the House. I'm sick of all of them! None of them should get paid until this is straightened out.
Would love to see a redacted copy of the official notification posted!
Very troublesome.
OMG. Where do I start? Ok got laid off in November. I had also been laid off in 2008 and started working again at the beginning of this year. I received 4 weeks of severance pay when I got laid off in November. I tried intermittently during those first few days after being laid off to call, but to no avail. So I went to their website. Per their instructions, I tried to file a new claim. Since that was a no go, I kept up for four weeks. I finally got through to someone the week my severance ran out. I was somewhat relieved. They went ahead and filed the initial claim. I also was told that I would need to refile in the new calendar year. I received a paper stating that they were contacting me with an interview time and date to discuss my "Severance". At the time I was told that I would not be eligible until after the first of the year because I had not earned enough wages from January to June to be qualified again. Not enough wages? Hold on. I've been working since I was 14 years old. I'm now 38. So 24 years of working meant nothing??? Anyway, they called me back and said that because I had not exhausted all of my unemployment the first time that they could pay me under that claim and then I would have to refile the new claim in January. HUH? I just got laid off through no fault of my own. So I get paid now via their stupid little credit card system for the first time next week. I have no idea what that amount is even going to be. After that the amount will be lower as I didn't make as much at this job as I did the former.
The only thing I can tell your employees is to not expect to get through on Monday as the rest of the world is filing their benefits via the phone. I am fortunate enough to have a computer and internet so I can file over the internet. Don't expect to get through first thing in the morning. The time I found is best to get through is 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. I wish them all the luck. It's all confusing, frustrating and stupid. It would be different if none of us had been working. I understand that they are trying to stop the fraud and whatever, but come on there has to be an easier way than this. It sure as hell doesn't help any of us pay our bills in the meantime. I am pissed and can just imagine what this is going to be like once the health care BS starts.
God help us all.
I just tried to file and PAY my 4th quarter unemployment report to MD.
I have paid out all wages for the year, and wanted to get the paperwork over with before the holidays.
Their website would not allow me to do this, as the year ain't over it would seem.
So here I am trying to send in some $$$$ and they won't even take it!!
Typical bureaucracy?
Yes I am. I changed jobs for more money. Due to the falling economy I was laid off temporarily in November til the spring. I applied on-line for my unemployment and I was denied. I have no income whatsoever as we speak. I contacted the Govenor's ofc thru e-mail reguarding this issue,then all of a sudden I get an e-mail from the Chief Director of Appeals on Dec 15,I e-mailed this person back and as of today I have yet to get a response. I WILL FIGHT THIS TO THE VERY END!!! As far as the Govenor's ofc they just passed the buck. Just remeber our votes here on the shore, they don't count.
So I guess the rumors you are hearing must be true. They are intentionally denying benefits so that ti appears that fewer people are filing for unemployment. The question is are they running out of money too? What will we do to feed our families? No jobs and no unemployment that was paid to the state in case this happened. Shouldn't we be angry? Why isn't the news reporting on this? WTF is going on? This nation is being pulled apart. What do we do to get it back on track?
Your government at work , or at least suppose to be at work.Thanks Obama , have a nice vacation you SOB!
Maryland's fiscal woes didn't just start. Last year, I filed my MD tax return in hardcopy and it took nearly forever for them to send me the refund due me. I was advised on their website that they were "shorthanded" and that manual processing was taking longer than filing electronically. With the mess O'Malley and the Legislature has things in, my advice is to file electronically and increase your deductions so that you owe them at the end of the year. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting an IOU from Annapolis.
11:04
Get OBAMAS A$$ out of office, thats what you do!
11:58, I'm with ya on that!!!
The process of turning a government to socialism should have been a little slower , but ,
the fact that 28% of the people are on some sort of government help program , makes it happen very fast. There are people in this country that have never worked or will never work.
On the other hand , the gun manufactures can't keep up with the demand for "ASSULT RIFLES". This is a good thing , watch out congress men and women . The people are tired of this $hit. The tea party may become a pee party.
This is a minor inconvenience compared to the catastrophes about to happen when the government of Barack starts running health care. Imagine having a life threatening illness and after repeated attempts to find treatment you're told to wait 'till we get enough money to handle your case.
From what I have witnessed,they are denying pretty much everyone EXCEPT those who already get it.Their benefits get extended but first time filers are finding it impossible to get through to anyone,and the "case reviewers" seem to be trying to find reasons to disqualify and/or penalize people.I pray for all those people who are unemployed and not getting any help from Unemployment Insurance,because I have been there in the past.
I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I am afraid this is just the beginning of the collapse of America. Our overnment is more corrupt than that of Mexico, and the people at the helm are more incompetent and unqualified than a monkey trying to fly a jet. As the economy crumbles, all they are concerned about is taking over health care. It is unbelievable. Get ready folks, it's going to be a long, hard ride. We have put the most stupid (and evil)among us in charge and now it's time to pay the piper.
Dear 12:09,
You're an idiot. Neither the office of the President nor the federal government have any bearing or responsibility toward Maryland state unemployment benefits and distribution. Do us all a favor and go back to your cave, and don't come back.
CC
3:30 You must be a Yobama-knight not to mention nuts also. So tell us "Whats he done for you"? Increased your food stamp allowance?
In Maryland the telephones are on at 7:30 and turned off at 4:30 pm.
My mortgage is $1500 a month. I'm getting $1100 a month. Have to Cobra my insurance at $450 a month for health reasons. Of course I make too much for food stamps. If something doesn't change soon I'm going to lose my house. We need the money to go back into the economy for jobs. I'm so frustrated I just want to scream.
Sorry 5:13,that's bs. That may be what they tell you but at 4:15 they take the phones of the hook so they can be out of there at 4:30 and that is NO BS my friend.
How's that hope and change working?
The new goverment is now in place. The health care bill is the crucial tool they needed to achieve the drastic change to Americans. This is just the begining. If anyone is in doubt of this please take a closerlook at things, I think everyone deep down feels uneasy, I wonder why....
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