PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Melissa April has been on unemployment since March but recently, she’s been having trouble with her benefits, so she wrote into 12 Responds:
“Why hasn’t RIDLT processed my weekly unemployment payment?” she asked. “I tried calling Wednesday but they aren’t accepting my calls. I reached out on Twitter and in other ways. Please help.”
April told 12 News that every time she’s tried to resubmit her claim, she’s gotten an error message, and she’s been unable to reach anyone at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training for help.
“I don’t know if I give up on unemployment and try to go for other resources,” she added. “I didn’t get my pay last week, I couldn’t get groceries this week.”
April said she received that payment this week, but when she logged in on Sunday to re-certify her benefits, she ran into problems.
“I got a message that I had to refile, my benefits were exhausted,” she recalled. “I went through the process four times on two different laptops and I keep getting an error message.”
12 News sought to find out why someone would receive a message saying their benefits had been exhausted, so we reached out to the DLT. In an email, spokesperson Margaux Fontaine said:
“If a claimant receives a message that they have exhausted their benefits, if all of their wages are from Rhode Island, then their extended benefits will begin automatically. They will not need to reapply. All they will have to do is certify the following week. If they have any out of state wages, they will need to call the UI Call Center at (401) 415-6772 to have the extension manually processed.”
April said she’s only worked in-state.
After 12 News spoke with the DLT, she said someone from the agency contacted her to let her know they had manually extended her benefits.
