Maine labor officials making changes to help people claim unemployment benefits

PORTLAND (WGME) -- The unemployment system in Maine has been struggling to meet demand, and now state labor officials are making changes to help people claim benefits.

The first change is already scheduled to start next week and will last until the end of July.

For those claiming unemployment benefits, every time they get a check, there will be an extra $600.

“We are still working on implementing the other two programs, which are benefits for the self-employed and extended benefits for those who have already exhausted their regular unemployment benefits,” Jess Picard of the Maine Department of Labor said.

Jess Picard with the Department of Labor says there isn't a timeline yet for extending benefits or getting benefits for those who are self-employed, but she says people who are self-employed and out of work should not file yet, you’ll get rejected, and to wait until the new system goes live.

She says in the meantime, gather paperwork.

“And that paperwork would be anything that shows what their 2019 earnings were,” Picard said. “So it could be their 2019 tax returns or some other documentation they would allow us to then see what their benefit would be.

The other major changes are the phones.

“We were receiving about 250,000 phone calls in the morning, which our phone lines just couldn’t handle,” Picard said.

Now they’ve added phone staff, extended call hours to 3 p.m. and changed the first three days of the week to an alphabetical list.

On Monday the labor department takes callers with last names A-H, Tuesday I-Q; Wednesday R-Z.

Thursday and Friday are dedicated for anyone who couldn’t get through.

Still, Picard says the easiest way is to file online, and she hopes these changes will speed up the claims process and get more cash to those who need it right now.

“I don’t know of a time we’ve ever been in this type of situation where there are so many claims coming in at the same time we’re trying to implement these three completely new programs that did not exist,” Picard said.

Picard says the most important thing to remember is to file your weekly certification.