KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas Department of Labor will shut down its website for two hours on Tuesday in an attempt to fix issues related to the “enormous” volume of unemployment claims being filed.
The department said the website will be taken down for one hour at noon on Tuesday, and again for another hour beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday. During these times, the phone lines will remain open, but the website will not be accessible for people to file jobless claims.
“We hope that the enhancements made during these time frames will allow us to provide better customer service to our fellow Kansans,” the department said in a Facebook post.
Gov. Laura Kelly has acknowledged the issues that thousands of Kansans are encountering while trying to file for unemployment through the decades-old system.
On Monday, she said that overhauling the system, which has been in place for 40-plus years, was a priority amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the Kansas Department of Labor said it had received 129,698 new unemployment claims as stay-at-home orders and business closures have forced many companies to shed staff.
