July 25, 2022 at 4:07 p.m.
Local business owners frustrated with 'ghost interviews'
Staffing still a challenge despite state's low unemployment rate
Local business owners frustrated with 'ghost interviews'
By Trevor Greene-
The last time it was close to that number was in February of 1983 when it reached 12.8%.
Since reaching historic highs, the unemployment rate in the state has dropped significantly, according to the Bureau, with its most recent rate recorded at 2.9% in May.
As of July 9, 23,400 state unemployment insurance claims were reported by the Bureau, an increase from June 4 when the number of claims stood at 18,400 but still significantly lower then May of 2020 when the number of claims reached a peak of 351,000.
While the numbers reported by the Bureau are encouraging, it doesn't seem to reflect the reality of some Northwoods businesses.
According to Bob Rynders, his Minocqua-based Rynders Excavating and Landscaping is short staffed, and trouble finding help continues to be a problem.
Some positions have been vacant for about a year now, and conducting interviews with applicants is done on a monthly basis, though they are scheduled more frequently, he said.
"Here's what's going on is you get a couple applications weekly - two, three - and then you ask 'em to come to interview with you and they don't show up," Rynders said. "Basically, I feel they're stringing everybody out and collecting unemployment as long as they possibly can."
Molly Rynders, Bob's wife, works in the company's office by herself most days - not by choice - and said the company has started to take steps with Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development by filing complaints.
"It's so ridiculous when you have an interview with somebody, and they're not working, and you say 'Call me and we'll discuss your start date' and they never call you back," she said. "Or calling the guys off of job sites to accommodate people who want to have an interview in the afternoon and then no one shows up."
Two applicants were hired by Rynders, she said, but didn't show up to start. Also, there have been three no-show interviews, as well as about 20 other applications received where an interview was offered but the company never received a response.
Similar situation
Rob Swearingen, the area's representative in the State Assembly's 34th district, is facing similar issues with his Rhinelander restaurant, The Al-Gen Dinner Club.
Like Rynders, Swearingen said applicants will schedule an interview with members of his staff or with him and then fail to show.
"And if you're fortunate enough to get them to show up for at least the interview ... by the time you hire them verbally, they may not even show up for their first shift," he said.
According to Swearingen, Al-Gen has been encountering staffing issues over the past three to four years.
"It was bad before the pandemic, but it has magnified even since the pandemic," he said. "I attribute that to the amount of money that the government has given some of these people."
Many of those who are unemployed, Swearingen believes, are taking advantage of the state's unemployment program.
Advertisements, he said, have been placed in The Lakeland Times and The Northwoods River News to regain staff lost due to the pandemic. Initially, the business would receive interested applicants, but now, Swearingen said the response has slowed.
When the response was strong, though, he said there would be three to four interviews per week. Of those interviews, one might have shown up "but right now, nobody even shows up."
"I would say all businesses (in the Assembly's 34th district) are suffering from the same issues that I am," Swearingen said. "And it's pretty simple to look, because everyone of them has a help wanted sign in the window."
Vetoed
Commonly dubbed as "ghost interviews," Swearingen noted there was a bill introduced in the state legislature this past year, which he voted to approve, in an attempt to combat the issue.
Eventually, however, it died when the package of bills it was part of was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers.
Assembly Bill (AB) 939, which was one of 10 included in the package, was aimed to prohibit "ghosting employers, missing interviews or not responding to interview requests." If individuals were found to have violated those prohibitions, they would have lost their weekly benefits twice a month.
Notably, there were two other bills included in the vetoed package intended to deal with the employment issues state businesses are having.
AB 937, if signed into law, was to fix "the problem of prolonged unemployed benefits that are keeping people out of the workforce by indexing the number of eligibility weeks to the state unemployment rate."
AB 938 would have required the Department of Workforce Development to audit 50% of work searches, legislative oversight of any future enhanced federal benefits and a legislative audit on unemployment's effort to limit fraud.
In a formal message addressed to members of the Assembly on April 15, Evers explained why he prevented AB 939.
Essentially, Evers explained how the bill would have added extensive and unnecessary workload for the Department of Workforce Development.
"The bill also adds duplicative requirements, which are largely already provided for under current law," he said.
Evers then elaborated, saying during the pandemic, Wisconsin citizens relied on unemployment "to make ends meet." And now, he said, people have returned to work, further noting the state's low unemployment rate.
"I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to adding more barriers for individuals applying for and receiving economic assistance through programs largely designed to provide support when individuals and families are experiencing economic hardship," he said. "Moreover, state law already has protections in place to prevent the types of fraudulent activity this bill purports to prevent."
One last thing Evers mentioned was his belief the Legislature may not have been fully informed with regard to measures already in place under the state's unemployment program.
"The Legislature might well have been informed about these existing requirements had this legislation been developed through the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council's agreed upon bill process or in consultation with the Council and the Department."
What employers can do, according to the Department of Workforce Development
In an email to the Times, the director of communications with the Department of Workforce Development, Jennifer Sereno, explained how employers can report "ghost interviews" or the failure of those to report to start a job at [email protected].
Information she said an employer should include: the claimant's name and social security number, the type of work offered, the rate of pay and hours the job included, the date on which the refusal occurred, the date on which the claimant could have begun work and the reason the claimant gave, if any, for refusing the offered work.
"If it is determined that a claimant refused a bona fide offer of suitable work from (an employer) without good cause and the wages, hours and other conditions of the job were substantially less favorable than those prevailing for similar work in the locality, benefits will be denied," Sereno said. "If benefits have been received, then they will (be) considered overpaid and require repayment."
She added that random audits are conducted by the state's unemployment insurance division, and if a claimant listed an employer they "ghosted" then weekly benefits would potentially be denied if there is not "another work search action to replace it."
Besides addressing businesses being ghosted, Sereno also noted that currently approximately 0.7% of the state covered workforce is applying for benefits, which is approximately 25-30% of the overall number of unemployed workers in Wisconsin.
"The majority of those who are unemployed in Wisconsin are not applying for or receiving (unemployment) benefits," she said.
Sereno also mentioned Wisconsin's near record low unemployment rate, describing the competition among employers as "fierce."
She then highlighted Gov. Tony Ever's efforts to address the state's workforce needs by approving an investment of $150 million with funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Act to do so.
"The groundbreaking investment builds on Wisconsin's leadership in workforce development and advances the state's economic competitiveness," Sereno said. "(The investment) is delivering regional solutions to address the labor force challenges and workforce constraints exacerbated by the pandemic so that Wisconsin's economy can continue to grow post-pandemic."
Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].
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