North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Benefits Compromised by Glitch

March 12, 2010, by Michael A. DeMayo

According to local station WECT (based out of Wilmington, North Carolina), almost 100 people who ordinarily collect North Carolina workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits did not get them this week due to a computer glitch. Officials believe that the problem can be traced back to an order of President Obama himself. In retooling a piece of legislation called the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act, President extended a deadline. This indirectly resulted in a short-term glitch in the North Carolina unemployment compensation system. Some state bank accounts went temporarily empty due to the delay caused by the transfer.

WECT quoted an unemployed man named John Crawford: “I have been hungry many nights…I have been lying in my bed, crying many nights.”

Officials at the North Carolina Employment Commission have been working double time to see that everyone who is owed North Carolina workers’ compensation and unemployment claims will get their paychecks. The disbursal is being prioritized, and a manager for the NCIC (per WECT) said: “once we get it processed, and we get it cleared up, within 72 hours of us getting it fixed they should have their money.”

Temporary computer glitches and shortfalls impact North Carolina workers’ compensation claimants differently. For people living paycheck to paycheck, shortfalls can devastate and lead to an almost Rube-Goldberg-esque cascade of financial problems. For other people, who have more savings and a bigger safety net, a payment delay might not much, if anything at all.

If you or a family member has been struggling with a North Carolina workers’ compensation issue – be it a computer glitch, a dispute with your employer, a frustrating series of negotiations with your insurance company, or a feeling of overwhelm from dealing with the mountains of paperwork you must file with the NCIC – a solid North Carolina workers’ compensation attorney may be able to give you good guidance.

More Web Resources:

Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act

WECT story about the glitch