For 17 weeks, Eugene Rosenquest waited for some response from the Department of Economic Opportunity to issue much needed unemployment benefits.
He said his DEO account had been suspended after an apparent mix up that left the account claim status suspended and the monetary status pending.
“They basically said they’d never seen anything like this,” Rosenquest said." This is an emergency and everybody is just unfazed by it."
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News 6 contacted DEO press secretary Paige Landrum and presented Rosenquest’s DEO screenshot, claim number and status.
In fact, the DEO was “fazed” by the unique story and worked quickly to resolve it.
On Thursday, Landrum said Rosenquest’s account was already under review.
On Friday, Rosenquest sent an email to News 6 confirming a complete reversal of the delay he had been fighting since March.
Rosenquest wrote in part: “I can’t thank you enough. I woke up this morning, looked at my site and surprise, large PUEC deposits were made. No one else could do it but you.”
Rosenquest said he had originally applied for unemployment benefits on March 23.
He said he landed a new job in August but without the unemployment “lifeline” he could not catch up on bills that had been deferred between March and July.
News 6 reviewed his DEO account and confirmed the funds were issued on Thursday.
The money is a welcome relief for the bills that had been deferred during his unemployment.
Landrum said she was happy to hear the case had been resolved.
“Please remind your viewers that it is important to verify that their information in CONNECT is updated and accurate and that they regularly check their CONNECT inbox for notifications,” she said.
The new director of the DEO, Dane Eagle, has indicated he will bring in top talent to fix the problems that have beset the overwhelmed agency since the COVD-19 economic collapse sparked a surge in claims for state jobless benefits.
Eagle, who served as House majority leader, assumed the helm of the agency Wednesday.
If you have an unemployment benefits issue, email us at makeendsmeet@wkmg.com