Nevada Unemployment Benefits Delayed, Casino Workers Told They Will Eventually Be Paid
Posted on: April 6, 2020, 02:27h.
Last updated on: April 6, 2020, 01:42h.
The Nevada unemployment benefits system is overloaded by the COVID-19 pandemic layoffs that have brought the state economy to a standstill. And patience is wearing thin for many of the 170,596 claimants who have filed over the past three weeks.
Processing the unemployment claims is resulting in lengthy time periods before qualified applicants are receiving payments. The Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) says it is unable to advise those seeking unemployment pay as to when money might be received.
The unemployment website and phone system is a joke,” tweeted Lisa Roe. “The unemployed of Nevada need help now. There is no more time to waste.”
Numerous social media users are also voicing their frustrations in trying to file. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) ordered the closure of all 219 casinos in the state on March 17. The directive is impacting some 206,000 gaming industry workers.
For the first time in my life I’m collecting unemployment. I am furloughed from my casino and should have my job back. In the meantime, it would be nice to be able to log on to the Nevada unemployment website, but of course Sisolak can’t even get that working,” Vegas4life tweeted.
After Sisolak said Monday that he “had a productive two-hour phone call” with Vice President Mike Pence, more critics fired back.
I’ve had a non-productive 3+ hours and counting phone call with unemployment insurance,” said one Las Vegas resident. Another chimed in, “How about fixing the unemployment problem? Casino workers have been trying to get our unemployment for two weeks and it’s busy all day.”
Nevada has 1,953 coronavirus positive cases, and 46 residents have died from the disease.
Time Running Out
Many casinos offered their employees one or two weeks of pay following Sisolak’s order to suspend operations. Those two weeks have come and gone, forcing tens of thousands of workers to sit at home with no incoming money.
While workers at Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts are being paid through at least May 15, billionaire Sands owner Sheldon Adelson explaining it is his company’s obligation to “maximize the number of employees and their families that we can help,” casino workers at other companies are not so fortunate.
The $2 trillion CARES Act stimulus package signed by President Donald Trump last month increases state unemployment benefits by $600 a week through July 31, 2020. But DETR says it hasn’t received those funds yet, the website listing the component’s status as “awaiting federal guidance.”
Sisolak’s executive order suspended all evictions and foreclosures in the state for as long as Nevada remains in a “state of emergency.” MGM Resorts, the largest employer in Nevada, says 60,000 of its employees have been furloughed.
Backpay Guaranteed
Speaking with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, DETR spokesperson Rosa Mendez says qualified unemployment applicants will receive pay from when they first became eligible.
“Claims will be paid without waiting seven days for administrative review to ensure the most prompt payment of claims possible,” Mendez explained.
Nevada casinos will remain closed through the end of the month, per Sisolak’s order. One thing is for certain, and that is the coronavirus economic impact on Nevada, a state that relies on tourism more than any other, will be felt for many months – and possibly years – to come.
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Last Comments ( 121 )
Terrible execution is just stating the obvious at this point. Filed a claim on 03/22 and it's still "pending resolution". How long do I have to wait for somebody to, at the very least, make a determination? Nothing short of ridiculous.
I have not been able to file a claim since 3/16 when I got laid off. The phones are busy as soon as the office opens. When it does ring I get the line que is full for the day and no more calls can be accepted. Website on computer, using 3 different browsers, my phone and tablet is either restricted access or times out or internal server error messages at all times of the day or night. I have been trying today since 8am and it is now 230pm and I still cannot file a claim for week 1. I have emailed 3 x since 3/16 and no response.
I got laid off and I received a pension from my other company who closed business. Now my status is pending when I only get $400 a month. How can i live on that. I filed the same time my coworkers did and they have already recieved theres. I have faxed all my documents and still nothing. this is rediculous!
Brian Dodds says: The website has been down and I can't file my weekly claim. I will check today but according to the mandatory stipulation that I am to report all activity of my job search. I started doing this last Sunday when I was supposed to and the website just does not come up. Been up and dialing at 8:am each morning and can't even get on a cue. the line seems to be inoperable. This is obviously unsustainable.. There is nobody in the department to contact. I spoke with JobConnect and they are inundated with calls as well. I was surprised to speak with a gal there and she said the phone cue for the DETR is in the thousands. There is only 1440 minutes in a day! Couple this with a downed website and they will never catch up. Ray Charles could have seen this coming and nobody to communicate with. There is a huge change needed to get out of this Corporate, money grabbing, dime-a-dozen workforce treatment that seems to be the winning formula for those on the other side of the financial independent threshold. Crisis management is the rule of thumb for both Government and large Corporate entities and it only works for those lucky enough to be on the string pulling side. There used to be a time, generations ago, when a Corporation did what they could to create a win win situation for their workforce vs corporate. Our Government as well as many other governments and corporations worldwide has setup a big huge ponzi scheme. My intuition tells me delays are occurring due to all the earmarks and slush fund recharging that needs to be put in place before anything will be put into place. A million here and there will not be noticed percentage wise. What do you think/ How much of this stimulus money will go to fraud? Government and otherwise. We all know white collar crime pays. When the United States was developed, a huge amount of attention was payed to reign in SPECULATION which has always been the scourge of fairness and the downfall of a functional capitalistic economy. There is nothing wrong with what we already have in place, its just that criminals are pulling the strings and we all know it. There is a book I'm reading called "The Starfish and the Spider". Good book that has nothing to do with anything political but spells out the power we all as a populus, have in this age of cyber space. The long and short of it is, all we have to do is quit! Collectively!! All these over-leveraged Government influencers and greedy corporations would be screwed within two weeks time. They are centrally organized and like a spider, can't operate without with out a leg or a head. think about it and organize on social platforms. Things can get done in short order. We are all pretty much broke now. How about we all don't go back to work for another couple of weeks after the economy is supposed to be "opened up". It would be interesting to see what happens. We have the power. Maybe more local products and business could get a bit of a leg up for those more independently minded. This could spark a positive change for all of us. Just keep up the good work of self serving ignorance, Sisolak and anyone that looks like you! This just might be a push over the cliff we all need.
Sick and tired of excuses Do something Gov! This is a disgrace. I am entitled to unemployment too as all of us here in NV!!! Applied six weeks ago Nothing! Can’t get through Can’t even get on the website anymore
Apparently, the state of Nevada has pocketed over half of this money (at least in my case). $600 became $226 for me ($374 for the state of Nevada). No back pay either.
I am 70% retired from military. Need to work to cover Bill's. I have been trying to get a hold of them for three weeks. Call back feature does not work. I am still pending because they needed my DD214 which I faxed in and still nothing. I start at 8am when I do get thru at 930 somehow they are full. But between that time I get thru but does not give me call back option. What a joke.
I been trying to call for 4 weeks to see why I’m not getting paid for my claim when it says open... I paid my debt I used to have for unemployment... I got my debit card and everything and can’t get paid once yet... I don’t know how some of my employees getting paid when we filed around the same time... $600 that people are getting with their claim money and I can’t even get a penny... how we supposed to survive when we can even get hold of the unemployment by phone to answer freaking questions... haven’t had sleep for 4 weeks cause of stress and getting up at 7 trying to get on the phone line on unemployment to know what the issues is... not knowing if u even getting paid or not
WE THE PEOPLE...need help & we NEED IT NOW!!! Everyday we are without our jobs we only sink deeper. I lost mine on March 13th. Being that its directly connected to the sports industry I do not foresee the company opening back up anytime soon. A sinking ship. Looking for temporary work or an entire new career has only been one dead end after another despite all of the aggressive efforts. Companies that were open & actively hiring are now closed. No access to the library or the state job office etc as well as thousands of us out of work are making it damn near impossible to find work. We were FORCED OUT OF WORK not an UNWILLINGNESS TO WORK. On top of that we are dealing with all of the unemployment filing issues & all the BROKEN EMPTY PROMISES regarding the assistance we are supposedly going to receive. In my opinion thats all they are. We can not survive long in the position we have been put in yet our govinor has the audasity to tell us to BE PATIENT. Lets put him in our shoes & see how well he does. He doesnt give a S###! about any of us or what he has done to our economy here in Neveda. Realect him? WITH ONE FINGER I SAY F### THAT! I am extremely frustrated & discusted with what I am going through. What we all are going through. Everybody would have their own story of the personal struggles they are dealing with. It is time to call upon your own internal warrior inside of yourself for strength. It exists there. Recognize it. Feed off of it. You may discover a part of you that you never knew was even there. It will help you take the hit with all of this from a different standpoint. All you have to do is get in tune with that part of your heart & soul. What you will find on the other side is strength beyond strength. I am trying to stay positive but honestly its depleting quickly. What do they expect us to do to survive? Our govinor is really on the darker side of the son he truly does not know what he has done to our lives. To our economy. It is going to be a long road out of hell. They put us here & yet make it damn near impossible to get unemployment. Or groceries. Necessities. Forget about paying most bills. The rubber has met the road. WE ARE DROWNING HERE. WTF? April
My name is Elizabeth I filed my unemployment 4 weeks ago. I file my weekly claim every week and I still have not been paid, I received my debit card in like 2-3 days of filing, but whats the point of having this card when they wont fund me every week for unemployment. The reason for non pay every week says "other", no explanation, I am off of work due to the covid-19, what am i supposed to do, keep filing every week and get nothing, I give up on calling we all know I wont get through to speak to anyone. Im so frustrated, my husband and I argue about this every week and Im at a loss for words..this will be week 5 this coming week to file my weekly claim, Im not even looking forward to it, because I probably wont get paid again. Bank of America card issued by unemployment for weeks with $0.
The gov is supposed to make sure the state runs smoothly. There is obviously ah BIG problem here. FIX the problem poor leadership all the way around. The website is bad, servers are overloaded. One don cannot login and cant reach the Login Help Desk. Another son cant find out why a 'ptoblem' has no explanatiown, just waiting to be resolved. Even the DMV works better. BAD BAD BAD management. The casinos that pay for weeks workers dont work are saving the state tons of UI money - but the state obviously has not put dollars to use by fixing the hardware, software, or phone system. This will be on the minds of voters in future elections.
Our governer should take the money from the 2 billion, yes 2 billion dollar trust fund. Then repay with federal funds. Not difficult.
are we getting enough excuses fire person in charge and let them collect unemployment they hired 200 more people so they can tell you to call about your claim no more do something now oh I know lets have more meetings to see what to do maybe they can call California and ask how they are doing it they are getting their checks
enough of the excuses I am tired of hearing them if they cant do the job fired the person in charge and let them try to collect unemployment your employer pays into this there should be no delay on any of this forget the $600.00 and just get the unemployment checks out something better than nothing
By the time Nevada unemployment gets their shit together we will be in trouble financially more than we are now. Give us the 600 and figure it out later. Stop praising how their getting it out to be who are already getting unemployment. Some of us have NOTHING.