Jobless system upgrade comes with concern

A two-week shutdown is planned in June to move to a new system, which will affect unemployment claims.

Pennsylvania is embarking on an overdue update to the state unemployment system, an update that officials say will modernize the website and streamline applicants’ experiences with the system.

This update has been in the works for years and was set to take place in October, but administrators pushed it back as it necessitates shutting down the system for a period. The pushed-back time now is just weeks away. In June, the system will go offline for about two weeks while the state transfers data to the new system.

During the offline period, current users and new applicants alike won’t be able to file claims. A Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry official said it is working to give claimants notice so that they can prepare in advance. Back pay will be given following the shutdown period.

Two weeks of no income is too long for residents depending on their jobless checks. They are, in fact, jobless and that means without a paycheck. It is not a stretch to envision many people balancing their budgets on a knife’s edge due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

Why not a backup system to ensure uninterrupted service for those relying on unemployment compensation? Why not, at the very least, a smaller window during which the system is offline? Instead of retroactive payments to current claimants, why not advance payments? This is the time for creative thinking, even if it means another slight delay in implementation of this longawaited system upgrade.

Officials didn’t want to upgrade the system during the COVID-19 pandemic, when thousands more applicants than usual were applying for benefits and a new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program still was rolling out. But, ahem, the pandemic is ongoing, and the Department of Labor and Industry continues to hire new staff to catch up on the backlog of more than 40,000 unresolved unemployment claims.

A system upgrade is undeniably necessary, as the current software dates back 40 years. Its clumsiness has been cited as a major obstacle to those seeking unemployment, contributing to widespread and well-documented delays in issuing checks. But fixing what should have been fixed long ago shouldn’t exacerbate the pain of those who need help now. State officials should be looking intently at a mechanism for uninterrupted service, even if it means a slightly longer delay in implementing changes.