Unemployment checks feared lost in the mail

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000 | 11:05 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- Anywhere from 400 to 2,000 benefit checks for the unemployed in the Las Vegas area may be missing in the mail.

The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said Monday the checks were mailed on Oct. 31 from Carson City and should have been delivered by Friday to recipients in Clark County.

Director Myla Florence said the agency learned of the problem Monday when it received calls from those who didn't receive their payments. The department started working with officials of the U.S. Postal Service to determine the cause. She said the delivery of the checks to the post office was verified.

This is not the first time a group of checks has been delayed, she said. "In the past, misdirected checks have always turned up within a few days."

Three or four years ago a batch of missing checks turned up in Las Vegas, N.M., a spokeswoman said.

That doesn't mean the agency is taking the incident lightly. "Any delay, even if just a few days, is a cause of concern for claimants and for us," Florence said.

During the week of Oct. 29 to Nov. 4, the state mailed out 17,213 unemployment checks.