For Immediate Release
Date: January 11, 2021
Contact: Office of Government, Policy and Public Relations - cdle_pr@state.co.us
State Labor Department Launches New Online UI System
New System Replaces Aging Benefits System
(DENVER) -- Today, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) announced that its new online unemployment benefits system, called MyUI+, is now available.
The MyUI+ system replaces both the former MyUI Claimant system used by recipients of regular state unemployment benefits as well as the PUA Online System used by claimants receiving federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), consolidating both systems into a single modern platform.
Since MyUI+ launched on Sunday morning, more than 100,000 claimants have accessed the system, and more than 43,000 claimants have completed their first weekly payment request within MyUI+.
While all claimants are able to log in and set up their accounts, only regular state unemployment claimants are currently able to request payment. The Department is seeing the majority of claimants reporting confusion with the new system coming from those on federal pandemic benefits, which expired on December 26, 2020. As the Department has communicated since the passage of the Continued Assistance Act (CAA), claimants receiving extended benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs are not currently able to receive those benefits. The Department received official required federal guidance on these programs last Friday and has since begun scoping requirements and system reprogramming. The new MyUI+ system will also allow CDLE to reduce required programming time by nearly half versus the old system.
All claimants on the PUA and PEUC programs have been contacted as recently as Sunday, January 10th notifying them that the MyUI+ system does not currently allow PUA and PEUC claimants to request payments, and that we will contact them directly when those programs are available within MyUI+.
Other functionality within the MyUI+ application is also being deployed in phases, and the ability to file new state unemployment claims within the application is expected to be released this week.
The new MyUI+ system is the culmination of a multi-year process undertaken by the Department to modernize its aging unemployment benefits system, beginning in 2017. The new MyUI+ platform was originally expected to launch in the spring of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic required the Department to instead shift its focus toward implementing CARES Act programs and assisting a mass influx of new claimants.
Claimants can learn more about the new MyUI+ system by visiting the MyUI+ page on ColoradoUI.gov, which features how-to tutorial videos and more. The department has also repurposed its third party call center to assist claimants with technical assistance and logging into the new MyUI+ system; however, the agents have limited access to claim details. The call center is currently operating Monday through Friday from 8am-8pm. The number for claimants to call for MyUI+ help is 303-536-5615.
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