Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Administrator Needs to Resign or be Fired!

      Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), Chairman of the Senate Labor and Regulatory Reform Committee, announced today his call for Mark Reihl, Division Administrator for Unemployment Insurance at the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), to resign immediately or be fired for his poor management of the state’s unemployment insurance program during Covid-19 and Governor Evers’ illegal shutdown orders.

“For weeks, it has been evident that the poor leadership provided by Mark Reihl in his duty to manage the unemployment insurance program has greatly harmed many citizens of this state in receiving vital benefits in a timely manner.  His disastrous management continues today impacting more than 151,000 claimants that still have not received benefits or an explanation for denial,” Nass said.

     Per DWD data as of June 15, 2020, there are about 151,000 individual claimants awaiting disbursement or an administrative decision from the department on an unbelievable total of 486,000 weekly payments for those individuals.  In many of these cases, these individuals have been claiming weekly for months without any payment or final decision from the department. 

     On May 27, 2020, Mark Reihl provided testimony in an oversight hearing of the Senate Labor and Regulatory Reform Committee regarding the unemployment insurance program meltdown.  His relaxed attitude and lack of understanding for the plight of citizens in need of their benefits during this hearing led to a rebuke from Senator Nass and other committee members that day. 

“Since March, legislative offices have been flooded with contacts from tens of thousands of citizens caught in the bureaucratic nightmare of the unemployment insurance program under the direct management of Mark Reihl.  Mark Reihl’s performance is a perfect illustration of the entire administration of Governor Tony Evers – low energy, lack of caring for anyone outside of the Madison-bubble and little real world competence,” Nass said.