The Department of Labor has fixed a technical issue that left unemployment benefit claimants on the phone for hours earlier this week, the department announced in a press release Thursday.
The department said that a glitch in the online portal had prevented a portion of Vermonters seeking unemployment benefits — about 800 individuals — from filing a claim online for the week of Dec. 3 to Dec. 9 or reopening an existing claim. Some of those people were able to file a claim manually over the phone.
In a press release on Wednesday, the department blamed the system’s aging infrastructure for the problem. The legislature appropriated $30 million in 2022 to overhaul the system, but the department has yet to secure a vendor for the project.
In Thursday’s release, the department said that because the issue was fixed before the Friday deadline, it would not extend the deadline for all claimants, but might extend the deadline on a “case-by-case basis.”
It advised claimants who cannot file a claim before the Friday 4 p.m. deadline, or claimants still facing issues with the online portal, to contact the Claimant Assistance Center at 877-214-3332.
