MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans at a sometimes heated legislative hearing are faulting leaders in Gov. Tony Evers’ administration for not doing enough to ensure unemployment claims are processed quickly during the pandemic. Wednesday’s hearing laid bare the partisan debate over who is to blame for the backlog of unprocessed claims. Republicans accuse Department of Workforce Development Secretary Caleb Frostman of not being prepared for the surge in unemployment applications and not reacting when it arrived. Frostman says his agency has been working to speed the processing of claims. Business shutdowns due to the coronavirus have caused the state’s worst employment crisis since the Great Depression.
