The Unseen Suffering of the COVID Crisis Like a fire that ravages across a forest, COVID-19 sucked the oxygen out of the lives of millions of Americans in 2020 – some literally – others surviving the health crisis but tumbling down in a slow, insidious spiral of material and financial loss. It is below the din of the headlines touting the record-breaking GNP numbers and … Continue reading The Silence of Suffering Continues as Pressure Mounts for KS Workers

KDOL Collateral Damage KDOL Payment Delays Cast Misery on Out of State Unemployed Devin Nightengale and Jessica Meza are watching over their son Brennan, 4, this week as doctors monitor his recovery from a surgery at Children’s Mercy Hospital. He needs a kidney transplant but the timing isn’t quite right and a procedure was needed in the meantime. “He’s in pretty good spirits at the … Continue reading KDOL Collateral Damage

Texas and Missouri Workers Caught in KDOL Pandemic Snag Headaches are Greater for Out of State Kansas Workers Susan Thompson Campbell got shocking news in June, 2020, when her job at T-Mobile ended suddenly with a mass conference call. “Our entire department got dissolved – everybody I know lost their job,” said Campbell. “We were literally told on Friday – ‘No, no, the rumors you … Continue reading Texas and Missouri Workers Caught in KDOL Pandemic Snag

The pandemic created an uptick of need for food distribution as people became suspended from their jobs. With unemployed people in Kansas still having issues with returning to work in some sectors and a slow payment response time from the Kansas Department of Labor, the pressure on food banks continues to be strong. By Peggy Bair/HeartKC Continue reading Need Still Strong for Food Bank

Kansas Senate Considers HB2196 as Unemployed Kansas Workers Brace for Fewer Weeks of Benefits “If you give them more time…they are not going to be sharp,” – Rep. Sean Tarwater Unemployed Kansas workers – which include workers who live in other states but are employed in Kansas – will see a reduction of benefit weeks and tighter restrictions on back-to-work requirements beginning April 1, 2021 … Continue reading Kansas Senate Poised to Reduce Benefits Weeks for Unemployed Kansas Workers

Alec Osterhaus 8 mos., was brought with his family to attend a rally in front of Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s mansion Saturday, March 13, 2021 in Topeka. HIs mother has been waiting 11 weeks without payment from KDOL. Continue reading The KDOL Stall

Niah, 10, is one of three children whose mother depends on payments from Kansas Department of Labor to pay for food, rent and basics. The family has gone without payment for the past 11 weeks and can no longer pay bills. Continue reading Out of Money, Out of Time

Unpaid Kansans Tapped Out, Fed Up This is one in a series of profiles showing faces of Americans effected by the cascade of economic, sickness and emotional devastation since the beginning of the 2020 pandemic. Nearly a year after losing her job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kansas resident Anastasia Anthony fears for the welfare of her two children as she scrapes by financially without … Continue reading Tapped Out, Unpaid

Unemployment Claimants: KDOL Feb. 19 Press Release While hundreds of KDOL claimants on social media sites lament that they received no payments today, a much anticipated KDOL promise of February 19, 2021 date for payments to be released to unemployment claimants of the Kansas Department of Labor has been clarified today by KDOL communications director Jerry Grasso. The press release clarifies that 4800 claimants will … Continue reading KDOL Press Release Feb. 19, 2021