DWD: $600 unemployment benefit to be paid by weekend

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – People across the state have been waiting for weeks to receive their extra $600 benefit as part of their unemployment benefits. After a hiccup, the state said the money should be sent by the end of this weekend.

“We’re moving forward with a much, much larger batch likely tonight and get the remainder out -- Friday night’s batch -- over the weekend, said Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Caleb Frostman in an interview Thursday.

Frostman said the back payment issue should be resolved, although it may take an additional day or two for the payments to show up in people’s bank accounts. He said there are still thousands of people waiting to hear whether their applications will be approved. Frostman said contractors and new hires should be in place this month.

“Meant to bring on approximately 500 staff to handle UI claims over the phone, answer questions about the status of folks’ claims, and also triage some of the more complicated calls,” explained Frostman.

Many people questioned why they weren’t receiving full benefits due to fines on a Facebook Live Friday hosted by CBS 58 reporters Brittany Lewis and Mark Stevens.

DWD told CBS 58 it issues these fines when people conceal wages or other information that would impact their benefits. The fines count against any unemployment benefits that would have been earned and disqualify someone from getting the additional $600 federal payment.

Roughly 33 percent of applicants are still waiting on any payment from unemployment. Frostman said this month is when he expects all the extra staff and call centers to work through the existing backlog.