'Buck Stops With Me' | Gov. Hogan Apologizes To Marylanders Struggling To File For Unemployment During Coronavirus Pandemic
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan apologized Wednesday to residents struggling to file from unemployment through the state's new portal.
"I want to take just a moment to personally address every Marylander who has had difficulty dealing with the serious problems on the state unemployment insurance website," Hogan said during a press conference. "With all of the economic struggles that people are already going through, they should not have to worry about getting the resources that they need and that they deserve."
The BEACON portal launched nearly a week ago and is supposed to be a one-stop shop for Marylanders who are eligible for benefits to apply. But some residents say they have been struggling to file online, sometimes being put in a queue of users or the site crashing when they try to apply.
"The system keeps crashing," Janice Moore told WJZ.
"It knocked me off, I was back to server error," Kathy Poole said.
Hogan said more than 245,000 accounts have been activated since the launch and more than 100,000 new claims were filed.
Since the launch of the BEACON One-Stop unemployment insurance application, over 245,000 accounts have been activated, over 100,000 new claims have been submitted, and over 273,000 weekly certifications have been filed.
— MD Department of Labor (@MD_Labor) April 29, 2020
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According to Hogan, the state is handling an average of 33 new accounts every minute with 70 to 80 new claims are successfully filed every hour.
"While we have been able to handle this volume better than many other states in the country. It is simply not good enough," Hogan added. "The IT contractor who developed this site, and the Department of Labor, have fallen short of the high standards that we have set and the people of Maryland deserve better and the buck stops with me."
"So I am going to make sure that they do and that we do whatever it takes to get this straight. Every single marylander gets every single penny financial assistance that they deserve," he said.
The state released a step-by-step guide on how to file for unemployment. Click here to read that.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.