In representing the interests of unemployed constituents, during a hearing of the Assembly Budget Committee Assemblyman Brian Rumpf called for faster processing of the unemployment claims. The Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development was invited to testify before the committee and respond to legislators’ questions and comments.

In representing the interests of unemployed constituents, during a hearing of the Assembly Budget Committee Assemblyman Brian Rumpf called for faster processing of the unemployment claims. (SenateNJ.com)

“After having their livelihoods taken from them as a direct consequence of misguided COVID lockdown restrictions, many unfortunate individuals faced a worse nightmare applying for unemployment benefits. To the detriment of the state, more thought was given by the Murphy Administration to picking winners and losers, as in which businesses could stay open and which would close during lockdown, then adequately preparing for the resulting wave of unemployment claims.

“The unemployment claim process passed a crisis threshold that was disgraceful and traumatic for so many families. Seeing the quickly unfolding crisis, our office called for more resources to be provided to the Department of Labor to expedite the processing of claims for persons who were at the financial breaking point.

“Thousands of constituents contacted my joint district office that I share with my 9th District colleagues Senator Christopher Connors and Assemblywoman Dianne Gove begging for help with processing their unemployment claims after receiving no response from the very government that, in many cases, ordered their business closed or operations restricted. As the state of emergency continued, our office made every effort to assist constituents but soon became overwhelmed by desperate pleas from unemployed constituents who were just trying to pay their bills and put food on the table.

“During the Assembly Budget hearing, committee members from both parties expressed extreme frustration with the number of unresolved unemployment claims, citing the bureaucratic nightmares that their respective constituents were forced to endure. A clear and direct message was conveyed to the Department of Labor and the Murphy Administration that the flaws in the unemployment claim process must be resolved quickly so that impacted individuals, many of whom have been paying into the unemployment fund for decades, receive the benefits that are entitled to in a timely fashion.