https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/State-to-thousands-who-got-unemployment-money-16473552.php

Unbelievable. My heart goes out to those affected. Can't even imagine what that is like.

I feel bad but if they are not eligible then they need to pay it back.

if your job overpaid you would they let you keep the money because you spent it? No, you would have to return the money.

The state needs to be reasonable about how quickly they expect the money paid back.

How can anyone be unemployed? Everywhere I go places are hiring. Maybe not your dream job but if you need to put food on the table......

The fraudsters need to be burned, but since it is CT, that wont happen. Legit folks that made errors will be offered some kind of repayment plan for a smaller portion of what they owe. If it is clearly the states fault on a case they should eat it and taxpayers deserve to foot the bill. We elect idiots, we deserve idiots. This should be hung around Ned like an albatross.

Never trust the state for anything, ever.

Yet the welfare gravy train rolls on...

There are MASSIVE supply chain & labor problems for a wide variety of business. Plenty of places can't get workers. Yet I see panhandlers everywhere. Many begging out in the hot sun in a shopping center driveway every dam day like it is a regular job. I'm sorry but I have ZERO sympathy for these people. GO get a job! The allure of FREE money off the books and no taxes has to be driving this. I wouldn't be surprised to find out some of them are collecting from the .gov and making bookoo bucks pretending to be destitute.

Free money….

People who weren't living paycheck to paycheck before the great clusterfuck might still be OK, even if they aren't taking unemployment. At that point taking a shit job instead of holding out for a good one is counterproductive.

It's easy to just say "lazy workers taking government money is the problem" but it ignores decades of mismanagement by employers. They have treated people like disposable garbage for so long that they don't even remember how to attract and retain employees.

You have companies that still want 2-5 years experience for entry level positions paying entry level wages, you still have companies that will not hire people who have been unemployed more than 2 weeks.

Sure, if you want a shit job with shit pay they are a dime a dozen right now, good jobs for good candidates are more difficult to find and that goes for employee and employer. Most of the companies that can't hire right now need to do some soul searching and figure out why nobody wants to work for them, it's not always the pay.

This ^^^

There is a tremendous mismatch between what companies want and what's available in the labor pool. It's not as simple as "jobs are open, these people must be lazy."

The CT-DOL and CSAO do in fact work very closely together to identify, investigate, and prosecute Unemployment Compensation Fraud in Connecticut. Connecticut's anti-fraud efforts have been touted as the most effective in the country.

I am with you. If you have no money then a menial job or two will have to suffice. Cut off the government handouts and watch.

People also live above their means. I have zero sympathy for them too. When times are good they are making bank because of OT. Then cut off the OT and these dummies go bankrupt. Same with two income families. Instead of two brand new cars in the driveway and a $500,000 house how about a small house with 1 car? Oh the horror....

Instead of "will work for food" how about working for money. Then you can buy your own food.

Yes many companies want experienced people. Mainly because when you hire the current generation of worker they think showing up most of the time and within an hour or two of their official start time means they are employee of the month. The millennial and whatever generation is after them are the laziest, most useless people and expect a trophy every time they do their job. No wonder they can't find work.

Ahhh, it's good to be back.  Been on medical leave for seven months and probably two more.  Incredibly bored.  I have memorized the 900+ channels on my TV and the other day I reached the end of the Internet.  No, not kidding.  There was just a sign saying you have reached the end of the Internet, turn around and go back. Quite frankly, I was pretty disappointed.   I thought for all of that effort Al Gore would have made something nicer. Oh well.

Just have to correct something you said.  Anyone committing  fraud has a very good chance of being investigated, arrested and prosecuted by a new and quite large unit dedicated solely to unemployment fraud.  It's a serious problem and has been recognized as such.  See, somebody in the big, bad government is doing something good.  Hope this makes you sleep better.  You seemed a little tense.  Maybe some herbal tea as well.??

Bullshit.

Watch some WW2 documentaries. Not the combat stuff, but the stuff that was produced during the war about production efforts and for training of factory workers. Do that and you'll find out that the "Greatest Generation" was in fact a bunch of lazy Millenials that had to have someone hold their hand all day. The difference is they had leadership, real honest to goodness actual leaders. Not the "Leadership school of excellence in leadership" kind of "this is how to ignore and cover up problems to get promoted" kind of leadership. Not the kind of leaders who think yelling and screaming is true leadership. They had people who talked to employees (gasp!) and could see problems coming before they happened and take actions to prevent them before it got to be a major clusterfuck.

I'm not saying ma worker din du nufin. I'm saying it's managements job to manage and the problems they face are not very different from what previous generations saw. Instead we see managers who insulate themselves from the workers and when they do get involved they very often encourage bad behavior.

Since you seem to be in the know, and love to defend the state, can you quantify what a “quite large” unit consists of? From what this lowly citizen can find on the matter, the unit is funded with just under 400k according to an article published in May 21. At the states pay levels, how large of a unit can that be? How many arrests, convictions, recovery of funds, and imprisonments have occured? What are we getting as taxpayers?

And yes, I am tense when it comes to the state. I have to interact with the incompetent bureaucracy constantly. It is a costly, inefficient, and maddening experience. The gross negligence or just plain apathy when it comes to hiring qualified individuals is inexcusable.

Glad to see you posting here. I was wondering where you went. Get well soon my friend!

Can you here the chirp of cricket’s? I can’t cause I am going deaf

Thank you Sir!

The first version of the UFU recovered over $6 million with only three people.  They had a dedicated docket and courtroom in New Britain.  The unit was mostly funded by the Feds.  They have a typically government way of doing business in that they actually have an "acceptable" level of fraud.  The unit reached it so they cancelled the funding and moved on.  DCJ and DoL tried to get the funds themselves but couldn't so the unit was disbanded.

During the COVID period, a lot of fraud came back.  We wanted to fire up the UFU again but there was a huge amount  of people to be hired for lots of other things.  Finally this year there was enough money to start it up again.  In addition to the dedicated people (your $400k), it's so important to the state that other units and bureaus chip in as well.

If you want info on all of the data, with the exception of on going investigations, it is all public knowledge.  Send in a request.

Finally, if you are frustrated in dealing with government bureaucracy, you should try working in it.  I see it up close and personal everyday.  Everybody I worked with for years are either gone or going by June 1st, 2022 when there will be a huge contract change.  If I could go, I'd be gone too.

I only defend the state as you put it when someone talks out their ass and passes on things that are total bullshit.  Maybe they want to feel important because they're bored with their pathetic lives.   Maybe they still can't get over that speeding ticket they got in high school so they still hate cops.  I don't know and I don't give a fuck.  Again, the state pisses me off too.  All the time.

Thank you brother!  I peek in since I've been home.  Just bored and taking nearly unbelievable amount of medicines.  Bring back 2020.