DWS providing more resources

The Utah Department of Workforce Services has added some new resources for those Utah workers seeking compensation during layoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new resources include an “frequently asked questions” section for the those filing weekly claims and an overview of the unemployment insurance claim process. These are supplemental to the FAQs already available for employees, employers and the CARES Act.

“We hope these documents are helpful to individuals as they apply for unemployment insurance benefits,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Department of Workforce Services. “We recognize that for many this is the first time they have used our system and want to provide as much guidance as we can as they wait for their claims to be processed.”

The Unemployment Insurance Division is currently processing a record-high number of claims that nearly exceeds the total number of claims in all of 2019. Despite these increased demands, the team continues to process and deploy benefits, Burt said.  In fact, he said, 85 percent of claims from the first week of the COVID-19 impact (March 15-21) are now processed, thus meeting the 21-day expectation of service during normal circumstances. However, in the second week (March 22-28) Unemployment Insurance saw a 2,400 percent increase in claim submissions. As a result, individuals should expect to see disruptions to normal service levels.

The new unemployment insurance resources, in addition to those previously provided, are now available at jobs.utah.gov/covid19.