Holzapfel, McGuckin & Catalano Demand Governor Murphy to Address Issues with Unemployment Before Residents Go Broke

As unemployment frustrations continue to mount for residents out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano of the 10th Legislative District are calling on Governor Murphy to fix the broken unemployment application process.

While businesses and schools remain closed, the legislators are calling on the Governor to work with the Department of Labor to fix the growing unemployment issues.

“We have received thousands of calls and emails from constituents who are looking for assistance with processing of their unemployment applications,” said the 10th District Legislators.  “These people have paid into the system for years only to find that in a time of crisis, the system is failing them. Collecting unemployment is a nightmare for residents who are at their wits end.

“Over a month ago we stated the need for more resources for the department to handle the volume of applications that needed to be processed.  The department’s web site has been known to have technical issues, and speaking on the phone with a representative can be nearly impossible.  Because of this, our District Office has assisted thousands of residents with their applications to ensure that they get the money they deserve. However, we still have an extraordinary amount of people who are in limbo and waiting for their checks.

“Why has there not been cross training of those Department of Labor employees who are not able to work to process unemployment claims?  We brought this issue up in the very beginning of the pandemic layoffs, and we are still seeing extensive processing delays.

“The stress of losing your job should not be compounded with the threat of not receiving unemployment.  We are now demanding that the Governor address this issue before people are not able to put food on the table for their families.”