In the Headlines

PALM HARBOR, FL (April 17, 2020) – As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, our economy is experiencing an unprecedented crisis as a record number of Americans are filing first-time jobless claims.  As a result, states across the country struggle to alleviate website traffic bottlenecks, the intake of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims, and the distribution of benefits in a timely manner. Traditional unemployment systems are not equipped to collect and process claims for pandemic assistance, nor do they take special consideration for those not usually covered under traditional unemployment insurance parameters, such as self-employed or season workers.

Software development firm Geographic Solutions, draws on extensive experience providing unemployment insurance solutions and disaster assistance to states such as Louisiana, Florida, and Tennessee during disaster relief efforts that include the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Oil Spill, hurricane loss, wildfires, and widespread flooding. The company quickly modified its Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) solution to process PUA claim filings.

The company’s PUA solution includes functionality to process new PUA declarations, declaration amendments, and abides by parameters governing PUA benefits. The system also generates data utilized in FEMA's Disaster Automated Reporting and Information System (DARIS) report. The U.S. Department of Labor requests the DARIS report weekly during a pandemic and its accuracy is pivotal to adequately funding the state.

For individuals who have lost employment as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PUA solution allows users to file a claim and receive digital documentation of assistance eligibility. It also fully supports a configurable weekly certification. UI staff have the option to access the claim and adjudicate it manually, or the system will automatically adjudicate and resolve any pending issues. Payments can be output to a payment file for the Treasury or as a bank transfer.

All of Geographic Solutions’ client sites have seen an influx in user count, site visits, and page views. Tennessee experienced over 46,000 concurrent users and noted 326,295 users as a single-day record—an approximate 1,800% increase in year-over-year statistics. With the support of Geographic Solutions, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development was able to handle the upswing in traffic to the JOBS4TN website, highlighting the systems’ flexibility, resilience, and reliability.

Because of the system’s Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) configuration, PUA functionality can be rapidly implemented for any state, either as a standalone application or integrated with an existing Virtual OneStop or Geographic Solutions Unemployment System. It can be hosted on premises by Geographic Solutions or in a cloud configuration. For more information on the PUA solution, please contact Deane Toler, Director of Sales and Marketing at 727-786-7955 or DToler@geosolinc.com.