State eyes unemployment system upgrade
The Ottauquechee River in West Woodstock, Vt. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Vermont's unemployment system was strained to unprecedented levels early in the pandemic, when tens of thousands of claims flooded the system in a matter of weeks.
This year, the state is taking several steps to address decades-old technology and other systemic needs at the Vermont Department of Labor (VDOL), due to action taken by the Legislature this past session.
In the state budget bill, which is headed to Gov. Phil Scott's desk, $3.5 million is set aside for phase 1 of upgrading the unemployment insurance computer system. The Agency of Digital Services is putting bids out to vendors to create a new system, according to State Rep. Charlie Kimbell, of Woodstock, who is vice chair of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee.
A four-member legislative committee is to be formed this year and will examine the unemployment insurance system, jobless benefits, and what the unemployment insurance trust fund should be, Kimbell said. A report on that work is due in December, as is a report on the policies and procedures needed for the new system. Then, lawmakers can use those reports, and others, to make legislation.
Kimbell said the overall goal is to have a system able to handle greatly increased demand. He said hopefully it wouldn't be anything like 2020, but there could be other times of need.
"There will be another recession," he said. "You just have to be prepared for when that happens."
The $7.3 billion budget may take a week or two after passage to arrive at Scott's desk, the governor said in a press conference Tuesday. Lawmakers passed it on Friday, and about a dozen other approved bills are expected to come to the governor in the next few days. As he expressed last week, Scott thought lawmakers did well with the budget.
"I think they did some pretty good work and came to a point where everybody can be satisfied with the outcome," he said Tuesday.
Vt., CDC correct vaccination data error
The state of Vermont has worked with the CDC to fix a key vaccination number that was incorrect.
Over the weekend, the CDC reported a new total for the percentage of eligible Vermonters who had been vaccinated against COVID-19. The number appeared too high to Vermont officials, who called the CDC and worked with federal officials to review the figure, the state reported Tuesday. It turns out federal and state officials had both reported a group of vaccinations from the VA last week, and from pharmacies from April 6 to May 22. This resulted in 11,000 duplicate reports, which inflated the statewide number.
The corrected number shows that 76.9% eligible Vermonters (those age 12 and over) have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the state. Still, that means over 10,000 Vermonters were vaccinated from Friday through Monday, bringing the state closer to having 80% of its eligible population vaccinated.
Gov. Phil Scott has said he would remove all remaining pandemic restrictions on the day the state hits that 80% mark. The state plans to end restrictions on July 4 at the latest.
— Gareth Henderson
