ReEmployCT

Governor Lamont Announces Launch of the Connecticut Department of Labor’s New Unemployment System, ReEmployCT

   
   

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo today announced a successful launch of the State of Connecticut’s new unemployment benefits and tax system, ReEmployCT.

Replacing a 40-year-old unemployment system, ReEmployCT serves approximately 115,000 businesses in Connecticut who pay into the Unemployment Trust Fund, as well as unemployed workers who are eligible for benefits.

“ReEmployCT is a significant step forward in Connecticut’s ability to provide modern services to its residents,” Governor Lamont said. “We must make government easier to navigate – it impacts every aspect of life and our economy. This new system is an important part of streamlining and modernizing government for everyone.”

“Connecticut had a strong rollout of the new system and I want to thank Governor Lamont and legislative leaders for their support of this initiative,” Commissioner Bartolomeo said. “This was an enormous project that required years of planning, and I want to acknowledge the agency team that has worked incredibly hard to get the technical work completed, help claimants and businesses transition, and handle the challenges presented with this type of multi-year project. We have more work ahead of us, but we are pleased with the transition and know that ReEmployCT will help make the unemployment system easier to navigate for all users.”

ReEmployCT replaces several unemployment systems in use at the agency. It provides a single sign-on for claimants; brings features online to help claimants and employers reduce the need to mail or fax documents; and it reduces the number of times some companies must file their wage records. The system also improves CTDOL functions by reducing manual processing and providing better data about unemployment.

Unlike the prior system, ReEmployCT is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

CTDOL launched the new system over the recent holiday weekend as unemployment is not processed on holidays, giving the agency another day to test the processes. Additionally, July is traditionally a low-use month for filers and it is the beginning of the quarter for businesses.

“Connecticut is an unemployment leader with ReEmployCT,” Commissioner Bartolomeo said. “We are one of the first states in the nation to adhere to the U.S. Department of Labor standards with ReEmployCT, and we worked closely with our national partners at the National Association of State Workforce Agencies to create robust training programs and technology support to ensure the best delivery of unemployment benefits. The lessons from the pandemic are with us – unemployment benefits are part of the social safety net, a bridge between jobs, and vital for residents to understand and access. The CTDOL team recognizes how critical these services are to individuals and the statewide economy. Despite the pandemic, they never stopped working to rollout this new program.”

Currently, Connecticut has approximately 20,000 weekly unemployment filers. Over the past 24 hours since the launch, 19,900 filers have established new accounts in the ReEmployCT system and 7,500 have already filed their weekly certification. Claimants have until Saturday to file for the week ending July 2, 2022. If a claimant did not file a weekly certification on June 26, 2022, they may also file for that week, as well. Since launching yesterday at noon, ReEmployCT has paid nearly $1.8 million in benefits to more than 2,500 filers.

Design and planning of ReEmployCT began in 2016 with the initial implementation expected to happen in May 2021. Due to the pandemic and historically high unemployment filings between March 2020 to September 2021, that launch was rescheduled for July 5, 2022.

Additional information about ReEmployCT is available at www.reemployct.com.