Colorado labor officials announced the department’s new cloud-based technology has been programmed to begin accepting new claims from contract workers starting on Feb. 22, almost two months after those benefits expired.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment switched to the new system Jan. 10, and it needed to be programmed to pay unemployment benefits under the new round of stimulus money Congress approved in late December under the Continued Assistance Act.

Colorado’s new jobless claims keep declining

While claims for new, regular unemployment benefits have been being processed under the new system, it only recently was able to process claims for gig or contract workers who had balances left in their accounts as of Dec. 26, when the first round of stimulus money expired.

Those workers, given unemployment benefits for the first time under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, will be able to file new claims starting Feb. 22.

“The phased-in rollout of the program has been frustrating for many, however our priority has been to get benefits in the hands of the most eligible claimants we could feasibly reach at one time,” Executive Director Joe Barela said in a statement.

“We may have some kinks to workout, but our new modernized could-based system will allow for much speedier implementation of future pandemic assistance legislation that we expect to come from the new administration.”

The new system, dubbed MyUI+, replaces both systems the CDLE used in 2020, the old mainframe legacy system MyUI and the new system modified in April to handle PUA and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation claims.

CDLE officials stated more than 104,000 contractor/gig workers have received more than $166 million in benefits since the Phase 1 rollout began Feb. 1.

Those with previous claims, but had exhausted those funds, will be notified how to reopen claims, according to CDLE.

Department officials also announced Monday unemployment benefits recipients would again have to show efforts to find another job, a requirement reinstated Feb. 1.

A list of those job-search activities can be found on the department’s website. A list of more than 76,000 open jobs can be found at ConnectingColorado.com.