Coronavirus Latest: Department Of Labor Says New Unemployment Website Application Back Up 'At Slower Speeds' After Temporarily Taken Down To Resolve Technical Issues
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- The new one-stop Maryland unemployment website is back up after officials announced Saturday the vendor of the website was temporarily taking down the application due to technical issues.
The department of labor says the website is back online, but operating at slower speeds as of 7 p.m. Sunday evening.
The state released a step-by-step guide on how to file for unemployment. Click here to read that.
However, when WJZ checked the page as of 7:50 p.m., it was not loading fully. A message, "Please wait, initial page is loading,"
Officials said the vendor is working hard to quickly resolve the problems and they cannot guarantee that additional technical difficulties will not arise.
Users commented on the Twitter thread saying the website still wasn't working for them.
The Maryland Department of Labor tweeted the following statement earlier Sunday afternoon:
"We are currently experiencing technical issues with the online BEACON application and have a team of professionals working hard to quickly resolve them. In order to perform this necessary maintenance, our vendor must take the application down for a period of time. We expect to have the application back up early this afternoon. All progress in your application should be retained. When you log into the application again, you may need to cycle through the question pages to return to your place. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
WJZ went onto the website Saturday morning. There was a technical error shortly after at least 11 a.m.
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The following error message occurred:
"We are currently experiencing technical issues with the system and have a team of professionals working hard to quickly resolve them. In order to perform this necessary maintenance, our vendor must take the application down for a short period of time. We expect to have the application back up tonight at midnight. All progress in your application should be retained. When you log into the application again, you may need to cycle through the question pages to return to your place. We apologize for any inconvenience."
Officials also announced Saturday that 99,049 accounts have been activated, 56,200 new claims have been filed and 62,067 weekly certifications have been filed.
The BEACON One-Stop application launched at 7 a.m. Friday but saw multiple issues due to the volume of people trying to log on.
The new website is designed to make it easier for people to apply for unemployment insurance in the state. For weeks, newly jobless Marylanders have reported issues with filing for unemployment insurance as the state said it was overwhelmed by the number of applicants.
The site now allows anyone who's eligible for benefits, including CARES Act benefits and those previously required to file by phone, to file online. It also allows the self-employed to file for unemployment.
Gov. Larry Hogan said before the site launched, they had 40,000 calls backing up into their call center.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
