BOSTON — A new state audit is raising concerns about how the state’s Department of Unemployment Assistance handled claims and customer service, but the DUA is pushing back saying the findings do not reflect major changes made within their system.
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office reviewed DUA operations from 2022 through 2024. The audit claims the DUA failed to meet federal timeliness standards and cited at least 33,000 email exchanges between the DUA and legislative offices intervening on behalf of claimants trying to get help.
The audit also claims in-person call centers were not appropriately staffed.
“They weren’t even keeping call logs to be able to look at trends, identify patterns,” DiZoglio said. “Folks were waiting on hold for well over an hour before somebody even got back to them.”
State Labor Secretary Lauren Jones acknowledged lawmakers frequently heard from claimants struggling with the system, but said the audit examines a challenging period for the agency.
“DUA was on the heels of the pandemic while also then preparing for the new modernized system that we launched in 2025,” Jones said.
The department says that new system, launched in August 2025, has dramatically changed the department’s performance.
According to Jones, call wait times that once stretched as long as two hours have dropped to between four and 11 minutes. Jones also says the DUA has eliminated its backlog and is processing a larger amount of claims within 30 days.
“After we launched the new system, we had roughly 50% of claimants receiving their processed claims in about 30 days,” Jones said. “Now three-quarters of claimants are getting processed within 30 days.”
DiZoglio, however, said her office has already received complaints about the updated system.
“We have already received complaints that it is not working as it should,” DiZoglio said.
When Boston 25 News asked whether her office would audit the 2025 to 2026 period to examine the improvements DUA says it has made, DiZoglio said, “Absolutely.”
The audit also found that the DUA violated the state’s records retention requirements by failing to preserve certain call center data.
“All call logs, all call log data — meaning when people call in and they have a complaint or when they are reaching out for services — all that data is under the records retention schedule,” DiZoglio said.
“We’re following our understanding of what’s required for records retention, and we believe that we have and will continue to do so,” Jones responded.
Boston 25 News has submitted a public records request seeking updated DUA data from August of 2025 through August of this year, the period after the new unemployment system was launched.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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