Lawmakers indicated they would support waiving repayments for non-fraud overages
An unprecedented surge in applications for unemployment benefits overwhelmed the state Division of Employment Security, Assistant Secretary Pryor Gibson told state lawmakers this week. And nearly a year into the pandemic, it is still struggling.
More than 1.4 million North Carolinians have applied for unemployment benefits since last March, when the COVID-19 pandemic first shut down large segments of the economy and led to record layoffs.
“Our offices continue to get calls that we can’t often get answers for in dealing with [DES],” said Sen. Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson), co-chair of the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Unemployment Insurance, in Tuesday’s meeting. “North Carolina citizens deserve an employment system that works for them.”