NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Starting Sunday, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development will move to a staggered schedule for unemployment claimants completing their weekly certifications.
The change will spread out the number of people certifying over three different days, creating a more responsive experience for claimants using Jobs4TN.gov web site.
More than 324,000 Tennesseans have applied for unemployment benefits over the last four weeks, creating an unprecedented demand on the unemployment system.
While claimants can certify any day of the week, most choose Sunday, making the workload 21 times the normal rate.
Beginning Sunday, April 19, claimants will have access to complete their weekly certifications according to the last digit of their social security number.
The schedule is:
- Sunday - social security numbers ending in 0, 1, 2 and 3.
- Monday - social security numbers ending in 4, 5 and 6.
- Tuesday - social security numbers ending in 7, 8 and 9.
- Wednesday through Saturday - all numbers.
When a claimant tries to certify and clicks the tab, the system will only allow them to proceed if they are accessing the system on the correct day. If it is not the claimant's scheduled day, the system will not let them certify.
If a claimant misses their scheduled day, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday are open certification days for any social security number.
Once a claimant completes the weekly certification process, their financial institution typically posts the benefit payment to their account within 48 to 72 hours. For claimants who normally certify on Sunday, switching to a Monday or Tuesday certification will change the day of their weekly deposit.
Claimants must certify each week to ensure eligibility for benefit payments and to avoid the potential for overpayment. If someone does not certify for a particular week, they have five weeks to go back and do so, but the state is unable to process the payment for that week until they complete the missed certification.