CDLE Holds Town Hall To Address Unemployment Issues: 'We're Working On A Fix'

DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment held a townhall on Wednesday to go over the latest updates with its insurance programs as well as answer questions about upcoming changes. Some workers tell CBS4 they have been waiting months for a hold to be fixed.

"I really do believe that there are people trying to do it right and trying to help people, but the system is still really, really broken," Karen Trapani said.

Trapani says she hasn't been getting unemployment payments since December.

"Currently I'm listed as inactive hold, there are so many different statuses, it's really difficult," she explained.

Trapani has been in a kind of holding pattern; trying to fix her unemployment, while also trying to find a job.

"One day I spent 5 hours just going in circles and loops just trying to get a hold of somebody," she said.

CDLE went over a series of upgrades to the MyUI+ unemployment system and answered questions about the federal extension system, as well as fraud concerns and bugs CDLE is still working to fix.

"And a few others of the defects that we're seeing present on the claimant side is caused by one thing so we're hoping we found that root cause we're working on a fix, we're hoping to deploy that this week," said Daniel Chase, CDLE Chief of Staff.

The issues the department is working to fix are unrelated to Trapani's issue. She says so many people are like her are waiting for help and somehow figuring out how to pay bills.

"I just think there are so many hoops to jump through it doesn't feel conducive to anybody putting their time into searching for a job," she added.

CDLE has recordings of the town halls posted on their website.