Jan 12 Health Beshear Says Coming Days’ Data Will Show Extent Of Current COVID Surge Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in his Tuesday briefing on coronavirus that state officials are still waiting to see how bad the post-holiday surge of new cases will be — even as the state reported 3,053 new cases. The state’s rate of positive tests for the virus rose above 12%. “It’s higher than the last […] By Jeff Young Jan 12 Health Beshear Says Coming Days’ Data Will Show Extent Of Current COVID Surge Jeff Young
Dec 22 Economy Auditor: We Don’t Know How Much Kentucky Owes In Unemployment Benefits KyCIR has documented the unemployment office’s hurried steps to make payments quickly as the pandemic shut down businesses in the spring. By Jared Bennett Dec 22 Economy Auditor: Ky.'s Debt To Unemployment Claimants Is Unknown Jared Bennett
Nov 30 Investigations How Kentucky Missed Out On A $90 Million Unemployment Upgrade The federal government set aside $7 billion in 2009 to modernize the nation’s unemployment systems. Kentucky left its portion on the table. By Jared Bennett Nov 30 Investigations How Kentucky Missed Out On A $90 Million Unemployment Upgrade Jared Bennett
Nov 12 Investigations Substitute Teachers Given Unemployment Now Face Overpayment Debt Education professionals can’t claim unemployment during summer break. The state doesn’t appear to have made clear when it offered benefits to subs. By Jared Bennett Nov 12 Investigations Substitute Teachers Given Unemployment Now Face State Debt Jared Bennett
Oct 27 Investigations Legislators To File Bill Preventing Unemployment ‘Overpayment Debt’ Kentucky Senate Republicans intend to file a bill that would prevent the unemployment office from “clawing back” money mistakenly paid to people who self-quarantined. By Jared Bennett Oct 27 Investigations Legislators To File Bill Preventing Unemployment 'Overpayment Debt' Jared Bennett
Oct 19 Health Gov. Beshear: Save Unemployment Money In Case Of Overpayment Debt Gov. Andy Beshear acknowledged that Kentucky mistakenly overpaid people who requested unemployment benefits — and advised recipients to save that money. By Jared Bennett Oct 19 Health Beshear: Save Unemployment Money In Case Of Overpayment Jared Bennett
Oct 16 Investigations Beshear Says Federal Changes Responsible For Unemployment Confusion It’s unclear if state officials ever communicated the change to out-of-work Kentuckians after the state received new guidance in April. By Jared Bennett Oct 16 Investigations Beshear Says Federal Changes Responsible For Unemployment Confusion Jared Bennett
Aug 20 Investigations Kentucky Violated Federal Rules In Rush To Pay Some Unemployment Benefits Kentucky officials likely underpaid some workers and overpaid others who weren't eligible for the benefits they received. By Jared Bennett Aug 20 Investigations Kentucky Violated Federal Rules In Rush To Pay Some Unemployment Benefits Jared Bennett
Aug 6 Investigations In Kentucky, Unemployment Checks Are Docked For Old State Debts The state is required to collect when a person has been overpaid in unemployment benefits — even if it wasn't their fault. By Jared Bennett Aug 6 Investigations In Kentucky, Unemployment Checks Are Docked For Old State Debts Jared Bennett
Jul 30 Investigations Fired Unemployment Director Testifies About Chaotic Pandemic Response The former executive director of the Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance told legislators Thursday the agency’s chaotic rush to deliver benefits in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic led to months-long delays — and may have violated federal unemployment regulations. By Eleanor Klibanoff and Jared Bennett Jul 30 Investigations Fired Unemployment Director Testifies About Chaotic Pandemic Response Eleanor Klibanoff and Jared Bennett
Jul 20 Investigations Well-Connected Kentucky Unemployment Director Quietly Fired Amid Crisis The head of the Office of Unemployment Insurance was quietly fired on May 5, amid an unprecedented number of jobless claims, a race to overhaul an archaic computer system and a belatedly-reported data breach. By Eleanor Klibanoff and Jared Bennett Jul 20 Investigations Well-Connected Ky. Unemployment Director Quietly Fired Amid Crisis Eleanor Klibanoff and Jared Bennett
Jul 1 Kentucky Politics Kentucky Still Struggling With Unemployment Backlog There have been more than 900,000 requests for unemployment benefits filed by Kentuckians since early March overwhelming the state's system. By Ryland Barton Jul 1 Kentucky Politics Kentucky Still Struggling With Unemployment Backlog Ryland Barton
Apr 28 Investigations As Ky. Payday Lenders See Business Dropping, Industry Seeks Forgivable Loans If granted, the lawmakers’ request would allow payday lenders offering annual interest rates as high as 469% to tap into forgivable loans with a 1% interest rate. By Jared Bennett Apr 28 Investigations As Ky. Payday Loans Drop, Industry Seeks Forgiveable Loans Jared Bennett
Apr 24 In Conversation This Week In Conversation: Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman Talks COVID-19 Response We spoke with Lt. Governor Coleman about the state’s response to the pandemic, and she took listener questions about unemployment benefits. By Rick Howlett Apr 24 In Conversation This Week In Conversation: Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman Rick Howlett
Apr 14 Health Effort To Modernize State’s Unemployment Technology Comes Too Late For Pandemic The back-end technology for Kentucky's unemployment system is decades old, an added hurdle for both the state government and newly unemployed. By Jared Bennett Apr 14 Health Effort To Modernize Unemployment Tech Comes Too Late For Pandemic Jared Bennett