State Rep. Jeff Coy wants the governor and the Department of Labor and Industry to quickly fix the problems that have prevented displaced workers from filing unemployment compensation claims over a new state hotline. Displaced workers in Franklin and Cumberland counties can t get through. Callers to the newly opened Unemployment Compensation Service Center in Lancaster have been faced with busy signals and others have been put on hold for 30 minutes at a time. Others are waiting for their first check more than a month after they filed. People are frustrated.
People feel angry.
People feel their government has failed them in their time of need. On Dec. 8, the Department of Labor and Industry closed the Chambersburg Unemployment Compensation Center on Norland Avenue. Since Dec. 11, callers must now file their claims over the phone by calling an 888 number or a long distance number in Lancaster. The newly opened unemployment call center in Lancaster is not equipped with enough phone lines to handle the volume of calls and there are not enough interviewers to answer the calls in a timely fashion, Coy said. This move was supposed to improve customer service and help people file their claims with less paperwork and delay.