The new system allows claimants to, for the first time, access accounts from their mobile devices, use self-service tools to file and view claims and appeals online, as well as use direct deposit. It also has a chatbot and resources available in 15 languages.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a rare case of a state IT project coming in on time and within budget. In 2023, the state estimated that the first phase of the project would go live at the beginning of 2024, with the second phase set for a summer 2025 release \u2014 and it met both deadlines.<\/p>\n
When the project first received state approval at the end of 2022, DETR estimated<\/a> that it could take up to four years. It ended up taking less than three.<\/p>\n The rollout concludes the yearslong effort to revamp the state\u2019s outdated unemployment platform, with its fragility exposed during the pandemic when a 20-fold surge in unemployment claims bogged down the system that ran on decades-old programming language, creating long delays in disbursing benefits.\u00a0<\/p>\n Additionally, an external review<\/a> of the systems found they were outdated, overly complex, costly and unable to successfully integrate Pandemic Unemployment Assistance \u2014 a new program for gig workers and self-employed Nevadans.<\/p>\n In an interview Tuesday, DETR Director Chris Sewell attributed the project\u2019s success in part to buy-in from agency employees, many of whom assisted with the project on top of their additional duties. He also touted the agency\u2019s decision to spend \u201cmany months\u201d fine-tuning the scope and details of the project before selecting a third-party vendor.<\/p>\n \u201cThe companies that were bidding on the project knew exactly what we were looking for,\u201d Sewell said. \u201cI would encourage \u2014 whether it’s a state system or a private enterprise system \u2014 do the work on the front end. Don’t try to fix it midstream. It’s gonna hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack Robb, the state\u2019s chief innovation officer, told The Indy on Tuesday that the relationship between the vendor and state is essential in these kinds of projects \u2014 which certain failed projects learned the hard way.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTreating your vendor as a partner \u2014 not treating them as a vendor \u2014 and developing that working relationship is key to success,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n On unemployment? Let us know about your experience with the new system by filling out this form<\/a>.<\/p>\n What are the changes?<\/p>\n The new system seeks to make things easier for everyone involved in the unemployment process, including people who are filing for unemployment benefits and for employers, who use the system to disclose a new business, report wages and pay payroll taxes that fund the unemployment system.<\/p>\n The first part of the project only affected employers. It went live<\/a> in February 2024, three months after work began. At the time, DETR officials said the next and final stage of the project \u2014 which addressed people filing for unemployment \u2014 would go live in summer 2025.<\/p>\n That stage of the project went live on July 7, following a weeklong period where services went dark to migrate systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n It includes a redesigned portal for unemployment claimants, real-time tracking of claim statuses and videos on how to use the new system, which were viewed more than 24,000 times in the first week of the rollout, according to DETR.<\/p>\n DETR officials have also highlighted the system\u2019s efforts to root out fraud \u2014 a significant problem during the pandemic, when the state paid out an estimated $1.4 billion in improper or fraudulent benefits, more than 10 percent of the total payouts, Sewell told legislators<\/a> in 2023.<\/p>\n The new system has two-step verification and can more easily detect irregular activity because it is a cloud-based system. If there is a fraudster trying to gain access to the unemployment system and users\u2019 information, the new program has more advanced response measures than the old system.<\/p>\n Although the state has caught up on its pandemic-era backlog of unemployment claims, there are still about 24,000 Nevadans who receive unemployment benefits weekly and more than $9 million in total payouts made each week.<\/p>\n Nevada\u2019s unemployment rate \u2014 now standing at 5.5 percent<\/a> \u2014 has ranked near last in the nation since the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Nevadans lose their jobs, they face more than a loss of just income. They face stress, uncertainty and the challenge of finding the next opportunity,\u201d Sewell said at a press conference Tuesday. \u201cUnemployment benefits provide that bridge and temporary support during that time. We modernized the system [to] deliver that support clearly, quickly and more reliably.\u201d<\/p>\n Bumpy ride for other projects<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the only massive state computer system to have these kinds of issues \u2014 but it is the only one to be recently fixed without any notable hiccups.<\/p>\n Since 2015, the state has in starts and stops sought to overhaul its finance and human resource systems that use the same programming language as the unemployment system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Its first crack at modernizing this system \u2014 the SMART21 project \u2014 failed in 2023 when Gov. Joe Lombardo pulled the plug<\/a> shortly after he took office. The state spent nearly $80 million on the project across more than three years of work, and The Indy previously reported<\/a> that it collapsed because of poor leadership, minimal staffing and training and tension between those involved in the project.<\/p>\n Now, the state is embarking on a new version of the project called Core.NV.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a bumpy ride so far \u2014 after the finance portion went live in January, users reported myriad errors<\/a> in the distribution of certain child support, pension and health savings account payments. The state also delayed the new HR system\u2019s launch from July to October, and multiple state employees have told The Indy that confusion surrounding the project and its progress remains.<\/p>\n Robb, who is helping oversee the Core.NV project, said the effort is particularly complex and defended postponing the HR rollout to October as a \u201cprudent business decision.\u201d The initial goal to release the new system on July 1 would have coincided with the start of a new fiscal year, as well as the launch of a new state health agency.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would have been problematic at best, and we just don’t have enough hands on our deck to pull something that big off,\u201d Robb said.<\/p>\n The Nevada DMV is also on its second crack at modernizing its outdated computer systems.<\/p>\n The first effort to upgrade the system \u2014 which runs in part on the same outdated programming as the state unemployment, finance and HR systems \u2014 failed in 2018, with the state spending more than $30 million with nothing to show for it after three years. A state audit<\/a> found that the contractor had grossly understaffed the project.<\/p>\n This time around, there has been more progress, but it is still years away from completion.<\/p>\n Although officials said multiple times<\/a> that the latest effort was within budget and on track to finish by September 2026, the DMV now expects<\/a> the final phase of the project to wrap up at the end of fiscal year 2029.<\/p>\n The state has spent or allocated about $178 million on the project so far, according to information<\/a> provided by a DMV spokesperson Hailey Foster. The original cost estimate was $125 million, but officials said last year that the cost could balloon up to $425 million<\/a> under a \u201cworst-case scenario\u201d<\/a> after determining that some of the work would shift to an outside contractor, costing more money and taking longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Legislature-approved funding for the next two-year budget cycle was about $35 million less than the worst-case scenario estimates, Foster said.<\/p>\n So far, the DMV has rolled out features such as rapid registration<\/a>, a new online portal for people to more easily register their vehicles, and turbo title<\/a>, a tool to apply for vehicle titles online. The agency is also expected to roll out 100 vehicle features by the end of this fiscal year, including an online application for disabled placards and fleet registration.<\/p>\n However, a third modernization project is moving in a better direction.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/101de864-detr_072225rc_001-1200x791.jpg\")
An EmployNV branch shown before a press conference hosted by the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation on July 22, 2025. (Ronda Churchill\/The Nevada Independent)<\/p>\n