LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When Joe Enderle landed an in-person appointment for assistance with his unemployment insurance claim, he assumed he was on the path to receiving months of back pay. After the May 20 appointment, he was sure of it. 

What You Need To Know

  • In-person help with unemployment remains a popular way to resolve lingering issues

  • Some people find that they need multiple appointments to resolve their issues

  • One Louisville man said he was frustrated that promises were made but not kept 

  • Sixteen months after the start of the pandemic, many are still struggling with UI

“I finally got in there, face-to-face with someone. I figured, 'That's it,'” said Enderle, who lost his job delivering coffee early in the pandemic. 

A week passed, and despite the promises made to him, Enderle hadn’t received a penny. And the problem he encountered before the appointment, an inability to log in to his account, persisted. 

“It’s aggravating,” Enderle said.

It’s not unique though. Enderle is one of many Kentuckians to experience the relief of landing a coveted in-person appointment only to see their issues go unresolved.

In the “Kentucky Unemployment Group” Facebook group, people have described the frustration of going to two, three, or even four appointments in the effort to resolve their UI issues. 

For James Crisp, the progress was incremental. He told Spectrum News 1 that his first appointment “squared away 2020.” A second “took care of most of 2021.” And he hoped a third, scheduled for this week, would allow him to “start filing week to week.”

“I’m pretty much out of the woods,” he said.

An imperfect solution to a persistent problem

Since the start of the pandemic, Kentuckians in need of help with UI have struggled to get it. But in early April they were offered hope. After months of only offering assistance over the phone, the state opened up in-person services on April 7. With more than 100,000 pending claims in the state, the appointments were exceedingly popular. 

Initially, Kentuckians had the most luck reserving appointments at midnight when the state computer system opened up new slots. That time was changed to 9 a.m. in May. 

Gov. Andy Beshear has repeatedly suggested that the help offered at these appointments is the best way to resolve outstanding claims.

Asked on June 11 about the continuing problem of unresolved UI cases, Beshear said the solution lied in “more and more in-person services." 

He offered a small caveat: “Those aren’t perfect, but I think everyone would say those are helpful.”

Kevin Kinnaird, spokesperson for the Labor Cabinet, told Spectrum News 1, "The Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance continues to work each and every day to ensure that eligible claimants receive the benefits to which they are entitled, and the agency will not stop until that goal is accomplished."

On June 22, a month after his first appointment for in-person UI services, Endelrle attended his second. Coincidentally, on the same morning as the appointment, months of back pay hit his bank account. 

But he was still unable to log in to his account on the state's website. That means he won't be able to file for future weeks. At his appointment Tuesday, he was assured that this problem would be sorted out within the week.

"On the 27th of this month, I should be able to file again," Enderle said. And if he's not, he's hoping he can avoid the race for another appointment and the wait for it to arrive. "He gave me his name and email address, so if I have any problems I can reach out and let him know what's going on."

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