After being offline for more than a week due to a cyberattack, Tennessee’s unemployment benefits website appears to be back online Tuesday morning.
“Jobs4TN is back online and operating. The system is ready for you to file new claims and complete your weekly certifications. Please follow the instructions in the link below to complete those tasks,” the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce (TDLWD) confirmed Monday afternoon.
July 4, 4:15 p.m. CDT
Jobs4TN is back online and operating.
The system is ready for you to file new claims and complete your weekly certifications. Please follow the instructions in the link below to complete those tasks.
INFORMATION LINK: https://t.co/vOMLcGLsil pic.twitter.com/0buZyuMWVg— TN Dept of Labor & Workforce (@Jobs4_TN) July 4, 2022
“The state’s vendor, Geographic Solutions, Inc. (GSI), completed the restoration of the state’s unemployment and workforce development computer system on Sunday, July 3,” according a statement from the TDLWD. “GSI experienced what it has called anomalous activity at its network operation centers on Sunday, June 26, 2022. The anomalous activity forced the company to take Jobs4TN.gov, and systems for approximately three dozen other states, offline.”
During the period in which the website was offline, Tennesseeans could not file unemployment claims or access information about unemployment claims.
On June 29, the Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus and State Senator Paul Bailey (R-Sparta) issued the following statement, lambasting the TDLWD for what they described as an “antiquated system.”
“With a recession looming, it is unacceptable that Tennesseans cannot receive the unemployment benefits they deserve. Unfortunately, this is not the first time there have been failures in the system. The Department of Labor needs a back-up plan, so they are not completely dependent on a system proven to be unreliable. It should be a priority of this Administration to ensure Tennesseans receive benefits in a timely manner, but we continue to see failure. There is absolutely no excuse anymore. The General Assembly provided funds to update the Department’s antiquated system, and every measure should be taken to streamline this move. My office is in communication with the Department and are working to help resolve this issue once and for all. In the meantime, I expect the Department and this Administration to do whatever it takes to get Tennesseans their unemployment benefits now.”
The TDLWD apologized for the inconvenience in its announcement that the site was once again operational.
It did not state whether it had intentions to upgrade the system, switch vendors, or make any other changes to ensure that a similar situation does not arise in the future.
The cyberattack affected eight other states that also do business with Geographic Solutions, which is based in Florida.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Man Working on His Laptop” by Amtec Photos. CC BY 2.0.
