PIERRE, SD – The South Dakota unemployment system has seen a rush as people filed for benefits following layoffs and furloughs connected to the coronavirus pandemic.
State Labor & Regulation Department Secretary Marcia Hultman says they are making adjustments as they go including letting businesses making mass filings.
“We are working with Monument Health in Rapid City, SD. That’s how they are going to do their claims. That will be our first test run. It should be beneficial to employers and individuals. We just have to make sure the employees don’t get nervous and file on their own. That will result in a duplicate claim and that will create issues.”
About fourteen million dollars in benefits was paid out last week which included about nine million dollars in federal funds.
The state trust fund has about one hundred fifteen million dollars now but Hultman says they are watching the balance carefully.
“We’re watching it very closely week to week We’re still projected to remain solvent through the calendar year,” she says. “We do have some benefits we paid out the federal government hasn’t reimbursed us for – not their fault, we just haven’t submitted those requests to them. For instance, we had waiting weeks and we went ahead and paid for that time. That’s something the federal government will reimburse us for.”
Hultman says they are keeping up with online filings and phone calls.
“I think things are settling down,” she shares. “Our call volume hasn’t decreased much but the content has changed. We’re seeing many more people calling with questions about their claim or the status of their claim as opposed to those calling to file their first claim.”
She says the agency expects another surge in claims this week as independent contractors and the self-employed can now file.
