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The Rebound Kentucky: Hope for some waiting on unemployment claims

Posted at 5:32 PM, Jan 28, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-28 18:38:44-05

(LEX 18) — As part of The Rebound Kentucky, LEX 18 has been committed to helping people waiting for their unemployment get answers from the state.

Since his interview with Gov. Andy Beshear in December, Larry Smith has spent hours reaching out to thousands of people who are waiting for those checks and working to cut the red tape to help.

Andrew Penichet's boss reached out to us, hoping we could get help for him and another co-worker. They were laid off for work for six weeks at the beginning of the pandemic. Andrew received one payment, but then just weekly robocalls from the state stating he was "in the queue."

"There was never any progress there; it was always just the same thing," said Penichet.

We forwarded his information out to the state, and he was able to get another payment.

"It meant the world to us. We were just ecstatic. That there was a response other than some robot telling me I was still in the queue," said Penichet.

Charlotte Gentry, of Nicholasville, detailed the steps she had gone through to get her money.

She was still waiting for results months after filing for unemployment when her part-time job at Marshall's was put on hold when the store shut down in April.

"It's a very valuable part-time job for me because I'm retired and on disability. I depend on that money for my living expenses, gas, extra food, all the living expenses that come with daily grind," said Gentry.

She received one payment, but spent months waiting in the "queue" for the rest of it, then reached out to LEX 18 for help.

"It was amazing because emailing you got the ball rolling so quickly. Within two weeks, I had a young lady from the unemployment office calling me, and she was an absolute angel," said Gentry.

They discovered it was a small error in her paperwork.

Within a week, Gentry had her back pay. It's much needed as she has another fight on her hands, this one against cancer.

"It was truly amazing to get that money that I needed desperately, and I couldn't have done it without your help," said Gentry.

If you need help getting your unemployment benefits, we can help notify the state.

Please e-mail us at unemployment@wlex.tv. You'll need to include four things the state needs to find your records: your name, the last four numbers of your social security number, your address, and the date you filed your claim.