Harrisburg Unemployment Compensation Funding Dispute Takes Its Toll On Citizens
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Lonnie Middleton is one of hundreds of innocent victims of a frustrating battle in Harrisburg.
He is owed thousands of dollars of unemployment compensation and can't get the state to process his claims because of a funding dispute with the state legislature.
"Because we had to cut our staff in half due to funding or lack of funding, we're seeing much longer wait times and difficulty getting through to our service centers," Sara Goulet, communications director for the PA Department of Labor & Industry told KDKA political editor Jon Delano on Wednesday.
When the state Senate adjourned last fall without passing a House-approved bill to fund the Department of Labor & Industry with an additional $57 million, Governor Wolf warned it would have serious repercussions.
Middleton told KDKA investigator Marty Griffin how bad it's become.
He dialed 800 times, getting a busy signal.
Griffin: "Then once you got on, they held you on hold for how long?"
Middleton: "About five hours."
Griffin: "And once you got a voice, they hung up?"
Middleton: "They hung up."
But some state senators blame the governor, saying he started the problem.
"It was manufactured on several levels," PA Sen. Guy Reschenthaler of Jefferson Hills told KDKA political editor Jon Delano.
Reschenthaler says this is a manufactured crisis.
"The governor did not necessarily have to shut down those call centers."
Reschenthaler says the funding was to upgrade computers and phone technology, not pay workers.
"We want accountability before we spend taxpayers money for these upgrades that may or may not occur."
But Goulet insists, "We provided ample substantiation for the plans, what had been done, what improvements have been made."
So far, no one in Harrisburg seems to be working for a solution which leaves people like Middleton up the creek.
Reschenthaler says he's willing to help.
"Come to us. and what we're going to do is we're going to take your information and we will fax that to Labor & Industry, and Labor & Industry has to within 72 hours respond to our constituent."
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