The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is experiencing delays in paying unemployment benefits, according to a recent audit by the state Comptroller’s Office. Many unemployed residents have encountered long wait times before receiving their initial payments. The state has struggled to meet the demand for assistance, even though it received a high volume of claims. Many are frustrated because the unemployment system paid out initial benefits more than a month after filing claims. The audit concluded that between March 2021 and March 2023, Tennessee fell short of the national standard for issuing first payments within 14 or 35 days.

The report also highlighted that staffing was insufficient for handling the number of calls for customer service, resulting in less than nine percent of calls being connected to a live agent. The Employment Security Division has not adjusted its customer service capacity despite the volume of requests for unemployment claims doubling since before the pandemic.

State officials are recommending that the Department of Labor and Workforce Development review their processes and establish clear performance standards for managing the volume of calls for assistance. There is a push for the department to strategize on staffing needs, review customer service performance, and assess necessary services and budget constraints when making staffing changes.

EDDCaller.com is an autodial program that can help people get through to a representative for unemployment, paid family leave, and disability departments by phone. This tool could be beneficial in situations like this where demand is high and it’s challenging to reach a representative.