COLUMBUS, Ohio — Work life for Khamala Rodriguez, manager of Polish Pretty Nails in Columbus, is flowing, but when COVID-19 shut them down, it blocked that flow.

They had just opened three months before that.

What You Need To Know

  • The director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said the unemployment benefits claims system and appeals is about to get an upgrade.

  • He said COVID-19 brought the problem to the surface

  • It's planned to go live by the end of 2026

Rodriguez is now preparing for her next client as she reflects on the pandemic’s challenges.

“We stay pretty busy, like we have a clientele that is like a reoccurring appointment. They book every two three weeks and sometimes four weeks,” Rodriguez said. “[The pandemic] was very scary for me because, you know, I dipped into my savings, I mean, I cleaned like my 401k out.”

She, along with millions of others, had to rely on unemployment money.

But filing a claim to get to that money was challenging.

“It’s important because that’s how we feed our kids, we, you know keep the roof over our heads,” Rodriguez said. “It was a little confusing because I’ve never been through the process, so and it was, you know, a time of uncertainty.”

Matt Damschroder, the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, said the unemployment benefits claims system and appeals is about to get an upgrade.

He said COVID-19 brought the problem to the surface, but it was just one of the reasons they decided to modernize it.

The other reason is that, even now, claimants often run into problems, Damschoroder said, for example with uploading documents, navigating the system and understanding what they’re asking from them. With the new system, he said all this will change.

“Will be a more user-friendly, streamlined online system that is easier to navigate and use,” Damschroder said. “We saw the need at a very large scale for unemployment benefits, and the system that we have was confined to a certain size, so it wasn’t scalable to meet the demands of the public.”

Damschroder said the plan is for the new program to go live by the end of 2026.

Rodriguez said everyone should have the same access because not everyone comes from the same background.

But hard work should be compensated even during in times of adversity.

“It gets very intimidating, especially if you are, basically, you know, English is your second language,” Rodriguez said.  “Thank God we’re not in the pandemic anymore.”