KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas Department of Labor admitted it continues to experience technical difficulties with its website, as thousands of Kansans try to file unemployment claims.
KDOL took down its website at noon and 7 p.m. on Tuesday to "fix issues with the system."
"I want to acknowledge your frustration with the system, as we too share the same frustration," said KDOL Secretary Delía García, in a social media post Tuesday. "Our IT system has been struggling due to the heavy load placed upon it with the volume of claims."
More than 130,000 Kansans have filed an initial claim for unemployment insurance as of Monday, a 3,400 percent increase over the same week last year. Over the past year, unemployment has hovered around 3 percent.
"What is it about Kansas that can’t get it right?" Erin Spielberger said.
Spielberger is one of the thousands who have attempted to file for unemployment. She filed her first claim at the end of March and has unsuccessfully attempted to file a claim every week since.
"The first week I was anxious,” she said. “The second week I was like, 'I get it.' Now by week four, when you can’t get anyone to resolve any issues at all, there’s zero communication. As the bread winner, I am relying on this money at some point."
To help with the phone calls, the department of labor said it has tripled the number of people taking calls. The state also has set up a triage contact center to take more calls.
Last month, Gov. Laura Kelly issued an executive order allowing Kansans who lost their jobs or are working on reduced hours because of the coronavirus to receive benefits for 26 weeks. Under normal circumstances, Kansans are limited to 16 weeks.
