Law center: New Mexico labor agency failed to produce unemployment files
The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty alleges in a lawsuit the state Department of Workforce Solutions has violated a public records law by failing to hand over requested documents.
The law center, a nonprofit legal organization that advocates on behalf of low-income New Mexicans, says in its petition, filed Monday in state District Court, it requested documents from the labor agency twice in the past year hoping to gain a better understanding of how well the agency was handling the massive influx of unemployment claims tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
An attorney for the center said Tuesday the nonprofit filed the records requests after trying unsuccessfully to engage Department of Workforce Solutions officials in discussions about applicants’ struggles to gain access to unemployment benefits.
“We have been trying to initiate conversation since last July to try to get their attention,” attorney Felipe Guevara said. But, he said, the center’s overtures, including an email to former labor Secretary Bill McCamley, went unanswered.
Read more: https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/law-center-new-mexico-labor-agency-failed-to-produce-unemployment-files/article_7ca2145c-a1ff-11eb-af71-6ba0f6b90e0b.html