Coronavirus Latest: Maryland's New Unemployment Website Adds Virtual Assistant Feature
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- After a rocky launch for Maryland's new unemployment filing website amid the coronavirus pandemic, the state has created a new virtual tool to help people get answers to their unemployment-related questions.
Even before the new site launched a week ago Friday, Marylanders reported spending hours on the phone with no answer on the other end of the line.
The new Beacon One-Stop application was supposed to alleviate some of the long lines, but due to high volume, it crashed within hours of launching. Since then, the state has added a virtual waiting line for unemployment seekers.
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The state's latest effort to address the surge in unemployment filings due to COVID-19 is a virtual assistant that guides users through the application process and answers some of their questions.
Some Marylanders, including Towson University student Breia Lyons, say they're still having problems and the fixes aren't enough.
"It was just a robot asking me, 'Oh what do you need help with?'" Lyons said.
Since its launch, the Beacon One-Stop application has seen more than 286,000 accounts created, 142,000 new claims submitted and 360,000 weekly claim certificates filed.
Gov. Larry Hogan has repeatedly apologized to those frustrated with the process, saying Wednesday "the buck stops" with him.
Still, Lyons is struggling to pay her bills. She lives with her disabled mother and spends hours on the site and making calls, hoping she'll eventually get through to a person and get the money to pay her bills and buy groceries.
"I'm frustrated, I'm irritated, I don't know what else I can do," she said.
WJZ reached out to the Department of Labor about the concerns people have expressed in recent days; so far, they have not responded. In the past, the department said it's been working around-the-clock to address problems with the website.
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.
