Lawmaker Blasts '5-Week Wait Time' For Unemployment Claims

MADISON, WI — A Wisconsin lawmaker is blasting the state Department of Workforce Development after officials said it can take more than a month for Wisconsin residents to hear back after filing an unemployment request.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) expressed his frustrations in a statement Tuesday, citing recent department hires that seemingly should have stemmed the wait time for unemployment claims.

“What the hell is going on over there?” Wanggaard said. “They’ve had three months to fix this problem. They’ve added hundreds of workers. The more people they add, the worse the situation is getting. It’s completely unacceptable.”

DWD officials provided an update this week, citing the increased wait time.

"Each week since the middle of March, DWD has received hundreds and in many cases thousands of constituent inquiries regarding unemployment insurance," DWD officials wrote in a Tuesday email to lawmakers. "The time it takes from submission of a constituent inquiry to your receiving a description of the resolution or a status update for those still in adjudication has increased to approximately four to five weeks in most cases."

According to statistics released by the Department of Workforce Development, from March 15 to June 13, a total of 74 percent of claims have been paid, 11 percent of all claims have been denied and 15 percent of claims are in process.

Official statistics released by the department this week stated that it takes 19 days on average for a person to get their unemployment insurance claim paid out.

News of lengthy wait times is nothing new for many filers, but is coming at a time when evictions are soaring in Wisconsin.

Gov. Tony Evers issued a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures on March 27 amid the coronavirus pandemic and soaring unemployment numbers. That moratorium ended after 60 days on May 27. According to a Wisconsin Watch report, eviction filings shot up more than 40 percent above 2019 levels once the moratorium was lifted.

By The Numbers

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development figures from March 15 through June 13.

$1,862,881,553

Total Benefits Paid - including Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

$1,226,133,075

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation paid

$4,731,580

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims paid

3,189,215

Weekly claims received

651,463

Unemployment Applications Received

19

Average Number of Days to get UI Claim Paid