BEACON 2.0 System Launching on September 20

Maryland Department of Labor sent this bulletin at 09/10/2020 07:21 PM EDT

 

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Subject: BEACON 2.0 System Launching on September 20

Dear Unemployment Insurance Claimant:

The Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance is excited to announce that the fully modernized BEACON 2.0 system will be launching for claimants on Sunday, September 20, 2020. 

BEACON 2.0 is a multi-year project dating back to 2015 that integrates all benefits, appeals, tax, and reemployment functions of the unemployment insurance system. BEACON 2.0 is replacing a legacy mainframe IT system that is several decades old. 

In addition to all that claimants can already accomplish in the current BEACON One-Stop application, launched to accommodate the unprecedented surge of new claims during the COVID-19 pandemic, the BEACON 2.0 system will offer claimants and employers dozens of new online features. Some of the new features available for claimants include the ability to...

  • See the status of their claim, including information about any eligibility issues;
  • Respond to fact finding questions;
  • File an Appeal;
  • Submit supporting documents for Appeals or Adjudication; and
  • Track and pay overpayment balances. 

It is extremely important to note that Maryland’s current unemployment insurance system will need to be taken offline from September 16 at 5 p.m. to September 20 at 12:01 a.m. to move data from the legacy mainframe system to the new BEACON 2.0 system. During this period, the Division will be unable to accept new initial claims application or weekly claim certifications, whether online or by phone. A limited number of live agents will be available by phone to answer general inquiries, but they will not be able to answer specific questions about claims. Benefit payments will not be issued during this period.

In order to avoid the delayed payment of benefits, claimants should file their weekly claim certification for the week ending September 12 within a four day period on the following dates…

    • Sunday, September 13 beginning at 12:01 a.m.
    • Monday, September 14
    • Tuesday, September 15
    • Wednesday, September 16 ending at 5 p.m.

If you file your weekly claim certification on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday before 5 p.m., your benefit payment will NOT be interrupted.

If you are unable to file a claim certification during that time period, do not be alarmed. The Division is providing an additional 6 days to file the following week and will accept your weekly claim certification for the week ending September 12 until Friday, September 25.