‘Tupac’ Prank, Others Slow Kentucky Covid-19 Jobless Claims

Kentucky’s unemployment insurance system is being clogged by pranksters and false claims that are delaying payments for “tens of thousands” of people who lost jobs due to the coronavirus.

“For instance, we had somebody apply for unemployment for Tupac Shakur right here in Kentucky. I’m sure that person thought they were being funny,” Gov. Andy Beshear (D) said during a Monday news conference in Frankfort. “Unfortunately, it’s going to take a little bit of time in these, because a couple bad apples can make this challenge that much more difficult.”

The state already has processed more than 550,000 claims, which adds up to roughly one-quarter of the state’s workforce. But hundreds of public workers are still making their way through a backlog of roughly 30,000 claims this week from out-of-job Kentuckians who applied for benefits in March.

On Monday, leaders of the Kentucky General Assembly asked the state to reassign Legislative Research Commission staff—the state workers who craft legislation—to help work through the backlog of unemployment insurance calls clogging the state’s system that has received up to 16,000 calls each day.

“We understand that this system was not designed to handle so many calls and applications,” House Speaker Davis Osborne (R) said in a Monday statement. “Our LRC staff have a great deal of institutional knowledge and help our constituents all the time. If they can help make unemployment benefits more accessible, we appreciate their willingness to step up.”