LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — I have an update to a story I brought you on Monday about a Nevada woman who emailed us about experiencing delays to her long-awaited unemployment benefits, a problem many of you have told us about this month.
After waiting in limbo following a system upgrade by the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), Renea Parks has finally received her benefits.
| "I appreciate you guys actually following through and letting the people know that someone is working on it — we hear your concerns, and we're trying to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else. That was my whole goal is actually sending the email, you know, just 'this is happening, see what you can do.'" — Renea Parks to Channel 13
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Parks, who depends on these payments as a mother, finally received the $1,800 she had been waiting for after completing all the required steps following DETR's upgrades.
WATCH | Nevada mom receives $1,800 in delayed unemployment benefits after DETR system upgrade
"I was actually surprised, I actually thought they were going to split it because of the weeks that I qualified for, but they were able to process them, you know all three that I had there, so it was a nice surprise," Parks said.
The process wasn't without challenges. After creating a new login as instructed, Parks had to wait approximately 15 days for her ID verification to complete, despite DETR's assurances that most claimants would receive payments quickly after the blackout period if there were no issues.
During the delay, Parks had to request extensions for her NV Energy and Southwest Gas bills, and nearly had to do the same for her car insurance.
"And also then I wonder, am I going to have the same issue next week? So you know you have to take it week by week at this point," Parks said.
According to DETR, 90% of claimants successfully accessed their accounts within five days after the new system was implemented, with Parks being among them.
Her advise to anyone still experiencing issues? Do not be afraid to reach out.
"Just be consistent. Reach out like I did to Channel 13, and maybe somebody rattling the cages will get someone to see that maybe this process is still a little flawed even though this is a new system," Parks said.
I'm cautiously optimistic that Parks' problems have been resolved and won't continue, but I'll stay in touch with her to confirm that's the case.
PUSHING FOR ANSWERS | 13 chief investigator Darcy Spears went straight to the DETR director for answers on why dozens are still awaiting unemployment checks
Do you have a question about this story? Reach out to Ryan Ketcham directly by following the link here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
