Lawmakers Hear Bill to Create Panel Studying Unemployment Insurance Access

BOSTON -- April 29, 2026, Massachusetts legislators hear testimony on a bill to create a special commission studying unemployment insurance access amid a growing DUA backlog. The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, co-chaired by Representative Paul McMurtry and Senator Jacob R. Oliveira, held its 11th hearing Wednesday on House Bill 5188, filed by first-term Representatives Hadley Luddy and Joshua Tarski. Attorneys from Greater Boston Legal Services told the committee that since the state's new online unemployment benefits platform launched in summer 2025, the agency's backlog of non-monetary issues has doubled to more than 70,000 cases and separation issues in the backlog have more than tripled to 55,924, while DUA completed just 16.5 percent of required separation decisions within the mandated 21-day window in March 2026. Oliveira said his office carried 68 pending unemployment cases at its peak last summer and declared that constituents "shouldn't have to call your state rep or your state senator in order to process your unemployment claim." The committee's written testimony window remains open through May 8.