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More than 1,100 people have signed up to testify at a state Senate hearing scheduled for Tuesday on Maryland鈥檚 unemployment benefits system, Senate President Bill Ferguson鈥檚 office announced on Monday.
The joint hearing is being held by two committees 鈥� Budget & Taxation and Finance 鈥� and will take place online on Tuesday at 1 p.m. It will be live-streamed on the General Assembly鈥檚 YouTube page.
Lawmakers said the large sign-up is a reflection of the frustrations newly-unemployed workers are having accessing jobless benefits.
鈥淚t is clear that the problems with the system have not been resolved as the Administration claimed last week,鈥� said Finance Committee Chairwoman Delores G. Kelley (D-Baltimore County) and Budget & Taxation Committee Chairman Guy J. Guzzone (D-Howard) in a statement.
鈥淭his is an unprecedented level of interest from Marylanders, and we hope the Governor, [Labor] Secretary [Tiffany] Robinson, and their staff are listening and take appropriate action,鈥� they added. 鈥淚t is our responsibility to provide an opportunity to elevate these Maryland residents鈥� voices, and we hope this hearing results in solutions from the Administration.鈥�
Robinson has not been invited to testify on Tuesday, but she has accepted an invitation to brief the House Economic Matters Committee on the unemployment benefits website on Wednesday.
Both hearings will focus on glitches with BEACON One-Stop, the system the state is using to process claims online, as well as the state鈥檚 scramble to hire additional personnel to process claims by phone.
The Senate hearing was announced on the heels of Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.鈥檚 claim at a news conference last week that 鈥渢he unemployment site has been completely fixed for at least ten days.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 been no wait since at least last Monday,鈥� he added.
Hogan acknowledged that users encountered difficulty at first, but he said Maryland was well ahead of other states, many of whom had unemployment compensation websites crash or they 鈥渟till haven鈥檛 even tried鈥� to develop a web-based system for processing claims. He expressed sympathy for those who had to wait to receive the benefits they were entitled to.
Hogan also noted that changes in federal eligibility have forced the state to reprogram its computer system multiple times.
鈥淥urs is now completely fixed and functioning very well. No wait times,鈥� Hogan told reporters on May 6.
Lawmakers from both parties and unemployed Marylanders told聽Maryland Matters聽this weekend that Hogan鈥檚 claim is exaggerated.
鈥淚 heard that it had been straightened out about two days prior to him making that statement, at best,鈥� said Del. Haven N. Shoemaker Jr. (R-Carroll). 鈥淪o it鈥檚 not my experience that it鈥檚 been fixed for 10 days, and frankly I have people that are still having issues with the damn unemployment website 鈥� and even more so with the telephone system.鈥�
Shoemaker said one constituent tracked him down at his law firm to convey her exasperation. 鈥淔rom my perspective, that鈥檚 unacceptable,鈥� the lawmaker said of the delays. 鈥淚鈥檝e heard anecdotally that there are people that are still waiting for benefits from back in March.鈥�
House Economic Matters Chairman Dereck E. Davis (D-Prince George鈥檚) said he is sympathetic to the challenges the state has faced in coping with an unprecedented surge in employment filings.
Nevertheless, he said, lawmakers have been bombarded with complaints.
Workers 鈥渃an鈥檛 get anybody on the phone. They鈥檝e haven鈥檛 gotten their checks,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he system wasn鈥檛 designed to handle this kind of volume, but it鈥檚 been two months and folks are getting desperate. And it鈥檚 our job to deal with that desperation.鈥�
When Hogan ran for governor in 2014, he accused then-Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D), his general election opponent, of 鈥渨eak leadership鈥� for the聽聽of the state鈥檚 Affordable Care Act website.
, 鈥淢D Unemployment HELP DURING COVID-19!鈥� has been created by newly-jobless Marylanders to assist in navigating the state鈥檚 system. Workers share tips, offer advice and commiserate about their shared circumstance.
One unemployed worker from Baltimore County 鈥� who didn鈥檛 want his name used because of the sensitive nature of his profession 鈥� said Hogan鈥檚 claims about the system are 鈥渁n insult.鈥�
鈥淲hen the BEACON portal was launched, it was utterly effed up. The page wouldn鈥檛 even load,鈥� the man said in an interview. 鈥淲hen Robinson and Hogan say the site is better, that鈥檚 actually truthful. 鈥� But I know of a lot of people who had benefits coming in and that new site launched, and they don鈥檛 get paid anymore.鈥�
Last week the state reported that more than 109,000 residents filed initial claims for unemployment benefits in the week that ended May 2. That number 鈥� nearly three times the number of workers who sought first-time benefits the week before 鈥� was the most to hit the system at one time since the pandemic began.
Robinson told lawmakers during a briefing last week that when information provided by an employee matches the data provided by his or her last employer, benefits checks are going out quickly.
It鈥檚 the more complicated cases that are time-consuming, because they require an 鈥渁djudication,鈥� she said.
A woman who recently lost her food service job said she applied on March 19 and has yet to get benefits.聽She shared a screen shot that showed she had tried to reach the agency by phone more than 1,900 times in a single day.
鈥淢y rent is two months behind,鈥� she said. 鈥淔ood is food stamps, which don鈥檛 go very far. 鈥� By the middle of the month, I鈥檓 struggling. It鈥檚 bad. And to me it seems like they don鈥檛 care.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 still hearing from folks that are having issues and they鈥檙e having problems,鈥� Shoemaker said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e sitting on hold for 12 or 13 hours at a time. They can鈥檛 easily file their certs [certifications] that they鈥檝e engaged in [a search for] gainful employment.鈥�
The Senate committees have scheduled a nine-hour hearing to get feedback from the public.
The first 270 people who signed up will get to address the panels live. The remainder will be invited to submit a short taped video.
On Sunday Guzzone told聽Maryland Matters聽the Senate committees made a deliberate decision to hear only from the public.
鈥淭he public, and the legislature, have heard from various officials already at the COVID workgroup and multiple times at the governor鈥檚 press conferences. This will give citizens the opportunity to share their thoughts about the functioning of the unemployment insurance program.鈥�
