LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada's Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) is supposed to be a lifeline. But for some, it's a bureaucratic nightmare that leaves them in limbo and at a loss to collect the unemployment benefits they count on in times of need.
That pain is being felt more acutely this week as DETR has gone dark for a long-awaited overhaul to modernize the system.
As we've been tracking how that's affecting Las Vegas locals who are desperate for help, a life-long Henderson resident reached out asking us to tell her story, saying she believes it highlights a larger failure in our state's unemployment system and how it's harming vulnerable workers.
That Henderson resident is Amanda Hair, whose daughter dreams of becoming a Broadway dancer.
It's an ambitious but achievable goal for talented 17-year-old Piper and an expensive road for her parents, made all the more difficult when Amanda lost her job of 11 years with Golden Entertainment due to a back injury and subsequent surgery. She had two cervical discs replaced which restricted her ability to lift heavy things and stand for long periods of time.
"So, I understand where my employer was coming from when they couldn't accommodate me in that capacity," Amanda said.
That job ending was the beginning of her dealings with DETR. She applied and got a letter saying she was approved for unemployment benefits.
"People like me have worked long and hard to be able to receive benefits like that in case something happens to us, like in my case."
And were you receiving benefits?
Amanda: I was not.
Why not?
Amanda: I got another letter saying that I was denied based off of my employment at the Pilates studio.
While on leave of absence from her Golden Entertainment job, Amanda signed up for a teacher training program at The Good Place--a Pilates studio near Pecos and Windmill. That training cost her $4500, "Which greatly outweighed the amount of income I brought in from employment with them."
While training, she says she worked at The Good Place on average about four hours per week, "And that lasted only 10 weeks. It wasn't stable by any means. It wasn't sufficient income or sustainable because it was far away from where I live, and four hours a week doesn't really help put food on the table."
In paperwork submitted to DETR, she explains that she quit the Pilates studio job after an issue with a co-worker put her in jeopardy.
"It automatically denied me from the benefits I was owed through Golden Entertainment," which she immediately appealed.
"I have not heard a single thing."
She hasn't had a hearing or spoken to an adjudicator, and she says being in limbo like that means she cannot pay her bills.
"With how expensive everything is, every nickel and dime counts and I'm getting nothing."
She's been sending in document after document and waiting on a decision from DETR for nearly five months. She says the system shutdown this week just adds insult to injury.
"We have absolutely no way to communicate or see our case--where it's at, where it stands, or anything. And it's just crazy that they would shutter the entire system."
On June 30, Nevada's unemployment insurance system went offline and will remain out of service until July 7 while the agency prepares to launch what they say will be a faster, more reliable and more modern way to manage unemployment claims. During the outage, claimants have no access to anything online or anybody on staff at DETR.
"I get that they're trying to make it better. But ignoring people for as long as they have been in order to make it better? Make that make sense."
I reached out to DETR about Amanda's case and they sent back the following statement:
"The very reason this viewer reached out to you is why the agency is upgrading the system. We agree - the previous system was antiquated. We are in the process of making it better for thousands of Nevadans.
In the same way the system is unavailable for claimants, the dark week also means we are unable to investigate individual information while data is being transferred. What I can tell you is that adjudications will resume once the system is back online. The department was aware the system being down would cause inconvenience and for that reason, communicated information to claimants, alongside the reminder that system's functionality would be returned and grace periods applied."
For Amanda, that feels like more tap dancing... And not the kind she's grown to love while supporting her daughter's dream.
"I have heard nothing and that was prior to the system shutting down for this entire week. And who knows if Monday, when it does come back up, am I going to hear anything? I'm not so sure and I'm not really holding my breath."
We'll be following Amanda's case through the appeal process but we know she's not alone. If you have an issue after the system comes back up, we want to hear from you.
Send an email to 13investigates@ktnv.com to help us keep tabs on the progress.
