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Frustrated Nevadans protest, demand unemployment fix

Posted at 6:51 AM, Apr 23, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-23 10:46:31-04

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A caravan of jobless workers protested Nevada's unemployment application system on the Las Vegas Strip this week.

On Wednesday, a number of protesters wrote signs and taped them to their cars to bring attention to unemployment issues. For weeks, 13 Action News has received calls about how hard it is to get through the unemployment website to file a claim.

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The Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation has recently upgraded the website twice and created a new call center to provide assistance, but it's only meant to answer general questions -- not "claim-specific" questions.

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Some people filing for unemployment say they are fed up.

"There's many of us that have been unemployed," said Susan Olvera, one of the protesters.

"I know Sisolak said there's help on the way, but they created a line that's only for general information which they have no access to email unemployment themselves," she said. "It's just to tell us, 'Guess what you're going to be more frustrated.'"

The call center itself is run by a third-party company called Alorica.

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The employment department wants to remind everyone looking for help, call center employees are limited in what they can do and cannot answer claim specific questions.

If you do have claim specific questions, call 702-486-0350.