MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – With some Vermonters still struggling to file unemployment claims nearly a month after a computer glitch, state labor officials say they plan to roll out new ways to cut down on wait times for claimants and prevent fraud.
The decades-old mainframe has caused big headaches and has delayed filing weekly claims forcing people to call the department and wait long times. Last week, claimants had to call by phone because of an influx of fraudulent activity.
Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington says they are creating a new dedicated fraud team to compare potentially fraudulent claims with other states and a more secure way for Vermonters to log in.
“We’re going through back-end processes to find out how to automate some of that work so it isn’t so manual, looking at authentication measures and ways to create a more dynamic login,” he said.
He says they will be letting Vermonters know about the switch in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Harrington says they are moving forward with a $30 million upgrade of the aging mainframe to get at the root of the labor department’s IT woes.