AUGUSTA, Maine - The state of Maine may have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits to people who didn't technically qualify.
The state auditor's office says that as many as one in three Mainers receiving unemployment between 2011 and 2014 may not have been eligible for those benefits because the state Department of Labor didn't ensure that they were actively looking for work.
Neither the Department of Labor nor the auditor's office can say exactly how much has gone out in improper payments, but it is clear that, in spite of new procedures and close attention from Gov. Paul LePage, the problem - which has been going on since at least 2010 - hasn't gone away.
Dave Sherwood of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting broke the story today. Sherwood explained the details to MBPN'S Irwin Gratz.
