Working hard to pay benefits

For the past 70 years, the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program administered by the South Carolina Employment Security Commission has provided a steady weekly income for people who have lost jobs through no fault of their own. Unfortunately, an economic downturn has caused a tremendous influx of unemployment insurance claimants, thus making it difficult to deliver these benefits in a timely manner.

As it stands, we are paying approximately 65,000 claimants weekly. This amounts to nearly $15 million a week, of which $10 million is for regular unemployment insurance benefits and $5 million is for extended benefits. The extended benefits program enacted in mid-July added approximately 32,000 additional claimants. This heavy work load is exacerbated by funding shortfalls in our UI and Employment Service (ES) programs.

Regular claims without issues are being processed normally, and determinations are being issued within two weeks. However, claims with issues must be adjudicated according to UI law and any outstanding issues must be resolved before payments are made.

Examples of these issues are: determining cause of separation, the availability to work and citizenship status. These claims are often complex and difficult to resolve. These claims have added a tremendous workload that was not unexpected but, nevertheless, have limited our ability to process work at our usual expeditious rate.

We have organized our resources to process these claims by bringing in employees from our local centers from throughout the state and by having our staff work extended hours during the week and also work on Saturdays and Sundays.

We fully understand that individuals who have lost a job face financial responsibilities and that a benefit check is vital to their livelihood. This is why timely issuance of benefit checks has always been a priority with the agency. In that regard, South Carolina was the first in our eight-state region to process and issue extended benefit checks.

In spite of the economic downturn and our dwindling resources, we will meet all the challenges head-on and continue to serve the citizens of South Carolina to the best of our ability.

ROOSEVELT T. HALLEY

Executive Director

S.C. Employment Security Commission

Hampton Street

Columbia