Wednesday is the first day frontline workers are eligible for “Hero Pay” are able to submit those applications to the state of Minnesota. And while some have gotten through, others trying to apply are having some trouble early in the process.
Amanda Lackey is a pharmacy technician who worked full-time during the pandemic. She got online at about 9:00 a.m. and filled out the application.
“After I filled everything out, it wasn’t letting me submit it because I couldn’t verify my identity,” Lackey explained. “It was asking for like a photo of my driver’s license but there was nowhere to put it in.”
Lackey is not alone. Others reported some trouble uploading documents and other functions during the process. The state has been working with the vendor of the website to increase capacity. They are also reiterating that those who are eligible to apply have 45 days to do so, and all applications will be treated the same regardless of when they were submitted.
Lackey says she knows she has 45 days to get it done, but didn’t want to wait.
“I kind of wanted to just get it out of the way because I don’t want to forget about it over the 45 days,” says Lackey. “I understand we have a while to do it. Not really frustrated, except just that I had to fill it all out and I just couldn’t submit it yet.”
In a statement, the Department of Labor and Industry says they are working with the vendor of the website to increase capacity.
Nicole Blissenbach, is deputy commissioner from Minnesota Department of Labor. She told Adam Carter on WCCO's Chad Hartman Show that despite glitches, a lot of applications came through on the first day they were eligible.
“As of 1:00 p.m. today we have received over 78,500 applications,” Blissenbach says. “That number alone suggest to me that a large amount of people are able to get through the application and submit those applications.”
Blissenbach also says they still want to hear from those who are having difficulty submitting applications.
“We really appreciate people who brought any experience to us, because we were able to identify what the issues were and apply a really quick fix,” Blissenbach explained.
The application period opened Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. No applicants will be approved until after those 45 days and it will be longer before they receive the money according to Blissenbach.
“If all goes well, and all of those processings go to plan, we expect payments to be issued in early fall.”
And while Blissenbach says it's encouraging so many people have signed up so far, there should be no stress if workers haven't signed up yet as it is not first come first serve.
“People have plenty of time and we’ve been trying to emphasize that from the very beginning. There’s no rush to get on day one.”
Governor Walz and state lawmakers approved $500 million in April to fund the hero pay requests. An estimated 667,000 workers are expected to receive $750 checks from the state following their service during the COVID pandemic.
Related
Related
