In an effort to handle a record number of unemployment claims through the COVID-19 pandemic — some fraudulent, some fair —Governor Andy Beshear and his office have taken some steps in combating what has become an incredulous backlog of undue hardship calls for assistance.
This has most recently involved the unveiling of a new unemployment insurance digital infrastructure, the switch to a federally-vetted identification system through ID.me and the verbal commitment of sufficient funds to create a permanent working staff for unemployment offices state-wide.
During his Thursday weekly news conference, Beshear announced another initiative is coming to help alleviate concerns, in what will be a physical and fiscal merger of Kentucky’s Education and Labor cabinets.
Beshear noted there were a number of reasons for this move — consolidating grant-writing efforts, simplifying audit procedures from the U.S. Department of Labor and removing the duplication of tasks among his main mentions.
But the biggest factor in consolidating the two working cabinets in Frankfort, Beshear said, came down to one key factor: cross-training.
In dealing with past, present and any future labor and education shortages in the state, Beshear has repeatedly iterated that a dilapidated computer system, poorly-staffed and poorly-paid unemployment offices and rampant unemployment insurance fraud have clogged the pool of applications since the pandemic began in March 2020.
This perfect storm has made unemployment hearings almost impossible to obtain across the Commonwealth, with legitimate claims left in a limbo or, worse, forgotten.
Beshear added the combination of the sectors would require zero layoffs or staffing changes, with current Secretary of Education and Workforce Development Mary Pat Regan moving into a deputy secretary role alongside recently-installed Secretary of Labor Jamie Link.
Link stated the two governing bodies have long served Kentuckians on a number of fronts, and by combining them, the state’s efficacy for job creation, interstate commerce and transition from unemployment will only improve.
Even now, Beshear noted the number of valid unemployment claims in the portal is unknown at this time, because the pool is still being sifted on a nearly-daily basis, and there is currently a “war-room” situation regarding some of the portal’s oldest claims.
Beshear, however, believes this is the safety net needed to avoid these pitfalls in the future.
Kentucky’s unemployment rate as of September stood at 4.3% — less than the national average of 4.8%.
In 2019, leadership from the Kentucky Labor Cabinet actually suggested its offices combine with the Public Protection Cabinet under Matt Bevin’s administration — but nothing came to fruition.
