Over a week since the expiration of the CNMI Department of Labor\u2019s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, the department continues to adjudicate the remaining 15% of outstanding claims. <\/p>\n
Labor Secretary Vicky Benavente said the department has adjudicated nearly 85% of PUA claims that they have received, leaving roughly 15% of claims that still need to be adjudicated and paid out. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very much close to 85% of everyone who has applied for PUA and are qualified for PUA. It\u2019s a high percentage and I\u2019m very happy,\u201d she said in an interview. <\/p>\n
According to Saipan Tribune archives, CNMI DOL received around 18,896 claims that fall under its jurisdiction. To date, roughly 3,000 PUA claims are still being adjudicated by the department. <\/p>\n
Currently, the department is left adjudicating claims submitted for the last week of the program, which ended on Dec. 26 and some initial claims as well. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had several dozens of individuals submitting PUA claims through paper for the last week of December. We had a few who were filing initial claims meaning they didn\u2019t file at all and that was amazing to see,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Benavente said the department is on track in terms of adjudicating before the second round of unemployment assistance begins.<\/p>\n
The department has also started clearing out applications that were submitted back in July that for some reason have yet to be adjudicated. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re actually into the ones that were processed since July. There were a few of those that we\u2019re clearing out now. These could be off-island claims, they could be fraudulent claims. They are dated July and for some reason the portal didn\u2019t push them forward or the portal red-flagged them because their address was in the United States, or their bank accounts were off-island accounts so now we have to manually go in and resolve these issues or just disqualify the claimant because it is not a qualified applicant,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
On top of adjudicating the remaining claims on the PUA portal, Benavente said she is also happy with the number of fraudulent claims and overpayments that have been caught and stopped. <\/p>\n
Benavente said its good thing that these issues were resolved for a smoother transition into the second round of unemployment assistance. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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