Joe Sedlar spent five years as a research scientist studying atmospheric thermodynamics at CU Boulder’s CIRES, a research institute that partners with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Last fall, he transitioned to working directly for NOAA. The switch put him on a leadership track but didn’t change much about his day-to-day work.
Then, in March, Sedlar was abruptly fired along with an estimated 80 other NOAA employees in Boulder, part of a Trump administration directive dismissing recently hired federal workers nationwide.
Like many others, Sedlar received no warning or severance when he lost his job. He turned to Colorado’s unemployment system to help support his family, expecting to qualify for the state’s maximum benefit of $21,000. But his claim was denied, and he received just one payment — for less than $900. Despite his familiarity with government systems, navigating the process has been anything but straightforward.
“I believe this to be the major miscalculation in my (and many others’) case,” Sedlar wrote to Boulder Reporting Lab.
Shaken by the sudden loss of employment, many are now facing a second crisis: navigating a system they thought would be there to help. Sedlar is one of hundreds of former federal employees and contractors in Colorado who say they’ve been caught in an unemployment benefits system they describe as “chaotic,” “clunky” and riddled with “unnecessary barriers.” Many have banded together to help troubleshoot issues. But even with that support, they say the experience has been bewildering.
“If this is what it looks like for someone who has some resources,” said Terrill Kucera, a former USAID contractor who was fired in March, “what would this look like for someone who doesn’t?’”
Sedlar said the Division of Unemployment Insurance only considered his recent NOAA wages when reviewing his claim, excluding his prior years at CIRES. A state representative told him that because he voluntarily left CIRES to take a federal job, that income didn’t count.
Sedlar contests this. “Even though I voluntarily left CU, the entire time I was employed there, CU paid into the state’s UI program,” he said.
A spokesperson for Colorado’s Division of Unemployment Insurance told Boulder Reporting Lab: “Unemployment is not an entitlement program, it is an eligibility program. … If a claimant’s most recent job separation was from a federal employer, yet their separations from their other employers within that time period do not meet eligibility criteria, their previous employment may not be considered towards their claim.”
A ‘mysterious limbo where you can’t get your payments’
Jan Cartwright, a former USAID contractor, has become an unofficial spokesperson for a group of fired federal employees and contractors in Colorado helping each other navigate the state’s unemployment system. She says employment history is just one of many hurdles. Some barriers are unique to federal workers, but many affect all Coloradans seeking benefits.
“This is not even just relevant to our community, but to anyone who’s facing unemployment. The system is really difficult,” she said.
Cartwright said accounts are sometimes placed on a fraud hold with no explanation, leaving people with no benefits and trapped in a monthslong, “Kafka-esque” appeals process.
That’s what happened to Kucera, who was doing work for a small business subcontracted to USAID when he was laid off. He applied for unemployment in March and received just one payment before his account was flagged for fraud.
“There was no explanation at all,” he said. “Just a note saying you have to repay the week you got, and they’re denying all my future payments.”
Kucera immediately appealed, submitting documents including his birth certificate, Social Security card, utility bill, personal photo and driver’s license. “Honestly, I thought it was a scam,” he said.
He called the unemployment office dozens of times. “I think one day I called 30 times,” he said, but the system just hung up each time without offering a place in line.
Eventually, he went in person to a workforce center, where he received a phone number for cases flagged with “integrity holds.” He was told his appeal could take up to 60 days, unless he could prove his case was an emergency, like facing eviction.
To avoid that risk, Kucera didn’t renew his lease in Denver, moved into a friend’s spare bedroom and went without health insurance.
“I still think of myself as very privileged,” Kucera said. “I have a support system, somebody who gave me a spare bedroom to stay in. I did have some savings.” He said he kept thinking about the people who don’t.
A workaround, and its limits
Kucera is part of the growing informal network of former federal employees working together to figure the system out. With help from congressional staff, they learned how to get a human on the phone: schedule an in-person appointment at a Colorado workforce center, then use a specific onsite phone to jump the call line.
“Those people that they talk to on a hotline are really helpful, and they almost always solve the problems,” Cartwright said. But without that workaround, it’s “nearly impossible” to get anyone on the phone. (A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, CDLE, told Boulder Reporting Lab that at times last week, there was no wait to speak with a representative. When there was a wait, it was around 10 minutes.)
Former workers say even when they get someone on the phone, solutions aren’t always timely. Kucera finally got a call from CDLE after attending a constituent meeting hosted by Gov. Jared Polis’ office, where he showed up to tell staff about his case. He can’t confirm the timing is related. He was told he’d been flagged in connection with a case involving someone impersonating a federal Defense Intelligence Agency official. Once he confirmed he’d never received such a call, they lifted his hold — 12 weeks after he applied.
A CDLE representative said integrity holds are “broad by design in order to prevent fraudulent activity,” and that claimants can sign up for text alerts for immediate notifications.
Cartwright and others point to deeper flaws in Colorado’s system. They say the unemployment website offers little guidance for federal workers or contractors, and fails to clearly explain when applicants should file in another state based on duty station or employer location. A CDLE representative pointed to a new webpage for federal workers with information. They said the volume of claims is manageable, under 1,000.
Some banks — including SoFi, Elevations Credit Union and FirstBank of Colorado — aren’t approved for direct deposit through the state’s bank verification system, which CDLE says is used to prevent fraud. When a bank isn’t approved, claimants receive a prepaid debit card instead, which can’t be used for rent or other large expenses. CDLE says funds can be transferred from the card to a personal bank account, but Kucera said he was told those transfers weren’t allowed and had to transfer funds to Venmo just to pay his rent.
Even with foreknowledge, it’s a struggle
Katie West, a Boulder resident and former USAID employee, lost her job on July 1. She had the benefit of knowing how the system worked. She had already joined the network of federal employees, knew what documents were required and where to find “the magic phone.” She even knew to drive to the Broomfield Workforce Center, since Boulder’s doesn’t have the same resources.
Even so, she struggled. Her claim was placed on three separate holds. “I have a program integrity hold, an availability hold, and they’re still verifying my wages,” she said. “And I came into this prepared.”
Just submitting the forms took hours — they had to be faxed in.
“Even public libraries no longer have fax machines,” West said. She tried faxing her documents digitally but eventually gave up and drove back to Broomfield to use their fax machine. “Just for me to fax this document was two and a half hours of my time,” she said.
She was placed on a program integrity hold like Kucera, which could delay her benefits another two months. She also received an availability hold for incorrectly answering a “confusingly worded” question, following advice from a state agent she spoke to by phone.
Now, West says, she may not see any benefits for two more months. “I’m no longer participating in the economy. I might foreclose on my house, and then I’d need not only unemployment, but also housing assistance.”
More to come
The federal layoffs are likely to continue. The U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed the Trump administration to continue firing federal workers. Hundreds more USAID employees — the last remaining at the agency — are expected to be fired Sept. 2. That means more Coloradans may soon find themselves in the same situation.
“Most of our network was with USAID, or USAID contractors,” Cartwright said, “and therefore were among the earliest affected — so an indicator of what will still be coming as more federal workers are laid off.”
West wants Polis to consider an expedited process for the thousands of federal workers who have already completed security clearances and background checks.
“This is a known layoff, and we’re all known people with lots of files on us,” she said. “So it might behoove him to create a different process.”
Tell them to run for Boulder City Council. Four seats up for grabs at 40k apiece. Then they could advocate for a reasonable system and put pressure on the state to clean up its act. Hopefully, they would also be more willing to stand up to the monied interests in Boulder that rule the day, and act on behalf of working class people who can no longer afford anything about Boulder.