Pryor Gibson
Fibs, fraud, and frustrations: North Carolina’s unemployment program draws more scrutiny
Claire Niver, a senior vice president with Pepsi Bottling Ventures, told legislators last week the global pandemic has had a “monumental impact” on the North Carolina-based company. Niver described in detail how the company hand-made 1,600 masks for frontline workers and created a partnership with Jim Beam so employees would have a ready supply of hand sanitizer when it was unavailable in most stores. "We had no layoffs and no furloughs. We are an essential business," Niver said proudly.
Applicant errors, not fraud, main source of $70 million in unemployment benefit overpayments
Lawmakers indicated they would support waiving repayments for non-fraud overages
An unprecedented surge in applications for unemployment benefits overwhelmed the state Division of Employment Security, Assistant Secretary Pryor Gibson told state lawmakers this week. And nearly a year into the pandemic, it is still struggling.