SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — In Tennessee, over 70,000 people are still waiting on their unemployment checks. For many, their claims have been pending since last fall.
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said there were 70,000 - 75,000 people waiting on unemployment decisions in the state.
Todd Layman is one of those people growing impatient with the process. It has been almost a year since the COVID-19 pandemic forced him out of his Sevier County retail job.
"It has been the most isolated year my life," Layman said. "I have not been able to go back to work because I have an autoimmune disorder."
The 60-year-old said he had never applied for unemployment before 2020, and the waiting game has been a nightmare.
He initially got checks from the state when he first had to leave his job, but when Tennessee changed its policy in the fall, the money stopped coming in.
"So ever since September, it's been I certify every week and every week they tell me, 'sorry, you didn't meet the qualifications and search for work, so you do not get anything,'" Layman said.
It's been nearly a year since unemployment claims initially spiked in Tennessee. Since then, more than 1 million Tennesseans have filed claims for benefits.
To put that number in perspective, that's more than the amount that was received during the great recession over a decade ago, and it's 15 percent of everyone who lives in the Volunteer State.
Layman keeps calling, emailing and messaging state officials, hoping to get through to talk about his appeal. He's only talked to a real person in the state office a handful of times.
"It's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous. You cannot talk to anybody," Layman said.
With time ticking by, he is unsure he'll ever see that money.
"I don't think I'll ever see a cent, but I think that eventually, in another two or three months, enough people will be vaccinated to where hopefully we can get back to some sort of normal activity," Layman said.
Until then, his hands are tied.
Those who file unemployment appeals with the state oftentimes will have to go through Zoom hearings before a decision is made about their case.
