Thousands in Mass. Waited Months for Unemployment Checks During Pandemic

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, NBC10 Boston has heard from dozens of viewers struggling with Massachusetts’ unemployment system…Community Legal Aid filed a lawsuit against the DUA last year, claiming the agency was breaking the law by not paying people their benefits in a timely manner.

“You can understand that when the pandemic started, DUA, like all companies, like all private industry, like all government agencies, was facing a change in circumstances, and to some degree, you expect that there is going to be a disruption in the level of services,” said Rory MacAneney, an employment attorney at CLA. “But now, a year later, there really is no excuse for those continued delays and continued disruptions in service. There are much larger states than Massachusetts that are meeting the 87% of determinations within 21 days.” Read more at NBC10.