Some waited months for jobless benefits, and some wait still
LAKE STEVENS — Like many their age, Doug Lambertson, 65, and his wife, Sandy, 61, both left their jobs when the pandemic began because they are at higher risk of experiencing severe complications, or even death, from COVID-19, and working from home wasn’t an option.
They each filed for unemployment shortly after. Sandy’s relief rolled in quickly, but Doug’s claims were left pending. For months, the Lake Stevens couple survived off her weekly payments and their retirement.
“We had what most people would consider an ideal middle class, suburban life,” Sandy said. “Now, we are literally months from retirement and all of our dreams are gone. There is nothing left in the piggy bank.”
To make matters more dire, the $600 federal benefit bump ran out in late July.
“That is what was holding us up, that is what was keeping us afloat,” Doug said. “We’ve got to have something to live on.”
He checked his claims twice a day for months, awaiting the thousands of dollars owed to him by the state agency.
After 14 weeks and more than $10,000 in unpaid unemployment benefits, the Lambertsons felt a rush of relief last week when Doug’s application flipped from “pending” to “processing.”
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