This photo shows a sign at the headquarters for Washington state’s Employment Security Department Tuesday, May 26, 2020, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

This photo shows a sign at the headquarters for Washington state’s Employment Security Department Tuesday, May 26, 2020, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

State continues work to clear unemployment benefit backlog

Over the past two weeks, the agency has been able to clear identity issues on 100,000 claims.

OLYMPIA — Washington Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine said Thursday that over the past two weeks the agency has been able to clear identity issues on the claims of 100,000 people seeking unemployment benefits, and they continue to work on resolving other issues on the claims of those still awaiting payments.

Tens of thousands of unemployment benefit payments had been suspended last month as the state did additional verification following the revelation that the state had paid out up to $650 million through tens of thousands of fraudulent claims made during the coronavirus pandemic.

To date, the state has recovered $350 million. A West African fraud ring using identities stolen in prior data breaches, such as the massive 2017 Equifax breach, is believed to be behind the fraud, which has targeted several other states during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, 50 members of the National Guard were brought on board to join the more than 400 staffers at the Employment Security Department to work on ID verification work.

LeVine said that the cases of 42,000 people who were already receiving payments but had their payments paused May 15 because of identification issues have been resolved. There are an additional 71,000 people who have submitted claims between March and June but have not been paid due to one or more issues in their accounts, she said.

She said that the agency’s goal is to resolve the 10,000 longest-waiting applicants by July 6, and then an additional 33,000 applicants by July 15. She said the target for resolving the remaining claims is no later than July 31.

Nearly 1.2 million people have filed claims for unemployment since early March when the pandemic job losses began, and more than 875,000 people who filed initial claims have been paid. To date, the state has paid more than $6.5 billion in benefits, two thirds of which is federal money that is providing the unemployed with an additional $600 a week on top of the state’s weekly maximum benefit of up to $790 per week.

The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in Washington last week — 29,612 — increased 2% last week from the previous week.

More than 718,00 claims for benefits — with some of that number reflecting people who filed multiple claims — were filed for the week of June 14-20, up 3.3% from the previous week. More than $532 million was paid for 410,836 individual claims last week.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Northwest

Guns for sale at Caso’s Gun-A-Rama in Jersey City, New Jersey, which has been open since 1967. (Photo by Aristide Economopoulos/New Jersey Monitor)
After suing, WA gets carveout from Trump administration plan to return gun conversion devices

The Trump administration has agreed to not distribute devices that turn semi-automatic… Continue reading

The Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility about 16 miles east of Ellensburg in central Washington is part of Puget Sound Energy’s clean energy portfolio. (Courtesy of Puget Sound Energy)
Megabill’s elimination of tax credits for clean energy projects could cost WA $8.7 billion

Washington households could see electricity costs increase $115 per year by 2029; 21,800 workers could lose their jobs by 2030, analysts say.

Washington State Ferries said it would deploy its new electric ferries first on the Mukilteo-Clinton run. Additional orders are expected to follow to replace more than a dozen other aging vessels in the fleet. (Photo by Tom Banse)
Washington state to buy new hybrid electric ferries from Florida shipyard

Gov. Bob Ferguson made the final call to turn down a higher bid from a local boat builder.

The Washington state Capitol. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
These Washington laws take effect July 1

Fee hikes for hunting and fishing licenses, workplace protections for immigrants and… Continue reading

Washington will have the nation’s third-highest state gas tax behind California and Pennsylvania.(Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
Gas tax will rise in Washington on July 1

Washington’s century-old fuel tax is going up again. On Tuesday, the gasoline… Continue reading

The BEAD program was created under the federal infrastructure law that former President Joe Biden signed in 2021. It was fashioned as a way to expand high-speed internet service into rural areas and other parts of the country where it was unavailable or lacking. (Stock photo)
Feds throw Washington’s $1.2B broadband program into disarray

States spent more than two years preparing to distribute the infrastructure funding, now the Trump administration is making last-minute changes to the rules.

Firefighters undertake a prescribed burn at the Upper Applegate Watershed near Medford, Oregon on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Such burns can help reduce the risk of large wildfires. (Kyle Sullivan, Bureau of Land Management/Flickr)
Trump looks to ‘consolidate’ wildland fire agencies

An executive order signed earlier this month by President Donald Trump would… Continue reading

Photo courtesy of Washington governor’s office
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, center, met with several statewide elected officials on Monday to discuss the how federal funding cuts could impact the state.
Tax collections tumble again in latest Washington budget forecast

The decline in receipts will force the state to draw down savings, but Gov. Bob Ferguson said he isn’t ready to summon the Legislature into a special session.

An EV charger in Granite Falls outside of Granite Falls City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Seattle judge orders Trump administration to unfreeze EV charger funding

The preliminary court ruling would unlock the money for more than a dozen states, including $71 million for Washington.

Nearly three-quarters of acute care hospital inspections were late, as of December, according to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee. One facility hadn’t gotten a state inspection since early 2018. (Stock photo)
Washington faces major lag in state inspections of hospitals

Washington state inspectors are way behind in their examinations of hospitals and… Continue reading

A classroom inside College Place Middle School in Lynnwood in 2023. New discipline guidelines for public school students will go into effect across Washington state next month. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Washington updates student discipline rules for public schools

New discipline guidelines for public school students will go into effect across… Continue reading

The Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, which is one of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the western U.S. (Grace Deng/Washington State Standard)
WA looks to strengthen safety net for children whose parents are deported

Detained immigrant parents worried who will pick their children up from school.… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.