FRANKFORT, Ky. — Carrie Leigh worked as an independent contractor, helping Kentucky horse racing lobbyists prepare for testimony in Washington up until the pandemic started.
What You Need To Know
- Kentucky reports more than 119,000 unresolved unemployment claims, including 63,014 with no fraud or identity issues
- Out-of-state filers face challenges getting help with no response from the unemployment office through phone or email
- One woman in Oklahoma saw her benefits stop after Kentucky overhauled its unemployment website
- In-person appointments for help are difficult to reserve
She joined what eventually became hundreds of thousands of people trying to get unemployment aid in the Commonwealth.
“It was a nightmare,” she said. “It still is.”
Despite qualifying for benefits, Leigh waited seven months to get her first check. A few months later, Kentucky overhauled its unemployment website and Leigh’s benefits stopped again.
Now she’s worried about her bills.
“My utilities are about to be shut off,” Leigh said. “I’m about to lose my car, my home, everything. It’s all hinging on the unemployment. It’s literally my lifeline.”
She hasn’t gotten any answers from Kentucky’s unemployment office.
“Right now, Kentucky unemployment is not answering their phones or their emails or the other 21st Century methods of communication,” Leigh said. “And they’re telling people you must have an in-person appointment if your claim is stalled or you need help, but those in-person appointments are very hard to get and obviously not feasible for someone like me who lives several states away.”
Leigh lives in Oklahoma and said she was tempted to make the trip to Kentucky for in-person help, but her license expired in April, making her claim even more complicated.
Trying to get a new ID in Oklahoma has been difficult, with multiple appointments getting cancelled at the last minute.
“After six months, I still have not been able to get to a window to see an actual face-to-face drivers license examiner to get a new license here, so I am unable to do anything in the meantime, including collect my unemployment,” Leigh said.
Despite the federal eviction moratorium, Leigh expects her landlord to try kicking her out anyways if she can’t make rent on the first of the month.
“I’m hoping for a miracle, like soon,” Leigh said.
Numbers from the Kentucky Labor Cabinet show 119,254 unresolved claims are pending, including 63,014 with no fraud or identity issues.
A spokesman for the cabinet said state officials don’t have a breakdown of how many unresolved claims belong to out-of-state filers.