Bureaucracy = Frustration

I'm having another go-'round with the unemployment bureaucracy. When I filed my weekly claim via computer on Sunday, December 12 (which went very quickly), I received a message in red saying "There has been a break in the reporting of your Partial Earnings. Please contact ..."


The computer system doesn't like the fact that I work a day or two for a few weeks, but then not at all for a few weeks. When I arrived at the career center at 9:00 a.m. (they open at 8:30) to see a representative, they were already booked for the day. I tried again two days later and was put into the queue. After about an hour's wait, I talked with a representative who re-opened my claim and said she needed to send paperwork to the city of Springfield (again) to verify there was no work for me.

When I logged on to my unemployment account on Sunday, the 12th, the red message was "Call the Telephone Claims Center. Additional information is required to determine your eligibility for benefits." No phone number; no hours of operation.

I stopped by the career center on Monday a little after 9. All filled for the day. The same on Tuesday. (I tried to arrive earlier, but other obligations prevented that.) Wednesday (one of the few days I'm allowed to call; it's determined by by SSN), I finally got through only to be told the city of Springfield says I started working again the Monday after Thanksgiving. That's news to me. After calling a couple of people at the library, I was directed to the personnel office for the city.

The personnel officer said he filled out the paperwork saying that I'm technically an employee of the city, but only as part of a substitute pool. He doesn't know why unemployment is giving me a hard time. Each person keeps referring me back to the other one to straighten it out.

Of course, this is a short week with the Christmas holiday (is this the place I say "Bah, humbug!"?). My plan is to arrive at the career center tomorrow before they open. I'll be bundled up since the temperature will be about 30 degrees at 8:00 a.m.

If this had to happen, I wish it had happened in warmer weather.