TOPEKA, Kan.: Thousands of fraudulent unemployment claims are prompting Kansas to shut down its processing system this weekend, meaning some jobless workers will have payments delayed as the state installs new anti-fraud protections, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday.
Kelly acknowledged that fraudulent claims may have helped fuel a recent surge of filings for benefits, agreeing with Republican legislators.
The Democratic governors announcement came shortly after GOP lawmakers said they will push to protect employers from being forced to cover the cost of fraudulent claims in ex-employees’ names. They said the state Department of Labor doesn’t have a handle on the problem and that they’ve not gotten enough data or answers.
Kelly said the unemployment system will go down at 2 p.m. Saturday and go back up at 7 a.m. Tuesday. She said the state wont pay benefits during that period but will work to catch up on claims when the system is back up.
The fix really is going to be an…