The Digital Divide and UI Modernization: States’ Moves to Online Applications Worsen Accessibility

In a 1996 Bloomberg News article, a tech executive declared in an interview that “the internet is the great equalizer.” He boasted that its capabilities as a technology would level the playing field for all—major corporations, small businesses, and the average Joe, alike. Fast forward to 2020: much has evolved and been optimized in technology—from online shopping and streaming blockbuster films to hailing a rideshare and staying socially connected. Yet in the three decades since the online world has exploded onto the scene, one fact still stands: the internet can only be an equalizer if people have equal access to it.

Much of daily life during this pandemic—with states’ shelter-in-place mandates and closure of nonessential businesses—is digital. Millions of those still employed are able to work from home; and sadly, for those laid off and furloughed during this crisis, they’re able to apply for unemployment benefits online, even with the mountain of technical glitches. But far too many Americans still don’t have access in their homes to the technology and affordable high-speed broadband they need to succeed in today’s economy—and these disparities fall along racial lines, heightening concerns around equity regarding race, education, and class.

“I don’t have internet service; and I don’t have access to a laptop, a tablet, or anything like that,” said Loretta, a former home health aid from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who lost her position in April. The state’s Department of Workforce Development (DWD) encourages claimants to use its online services, leaving Loretta to search for telephone assistance. She spent two months trying to access and finalize her UI application—all via her mobile phone. She had to rely on a friend who was better with navigating their smartphone to check the status of her claim, which was still pending when we spoke to her in July. “It’s really frustrating.”

Gloria, who lives in Brooklyn and was introduced earlier in our report, faced a similar dilemma and asked a community organization for help. Even though “la aplicación estaba en español, pero eso no importa porque no tengo computadora (the application was in Spanish, it didn’t matter because I don’t have a computer),” said Gloria during her July interview.

Black and Latinx adults like Loretta and Gloria remain less likely than white adults to own a personal computer or have high-speed internet at home, according to a survey from Pew Research Center. In 2019, just over 80 percent of white adults said they owned a desktop or laptop computer, compared with 58 percent of Black adults and 57 percent of Latinx adults. The racial gap in broadband access is similar: 79 percent of whites have broadband connection at home, compared with 66 percent of Black households and 61 percent of Latinx households.

The main source of access to the online world for Black and Latinx adults: their smartphones. According to Pew, 25 percent of Hispanic and 23 percent of Black adults say they are “smartphone only” internet users—someone who doesn’t have broadband service in their home but owns a smartphone, such as an Android, iPhone, or Galaxy smartphone. The share of low-wage workers who rely on their smartphones for online access has roughly doubled since 2013.

The smartphone option—which is cheaper compared to broadband, where costs can reach as much as $100 a month—slightly narrows the gap, but not enough. Racial inequity in technology continues to tip the scale so far that Black and Latinx adults are finding themselves left even further behind. Before the pandemic, our world already had been reliant on digital access—and it will be even more so now. For instance, school districts and colleges are opting for online classes and remote learning; companies are maintaining work-from-home plans into 2021. States are likely to move forward with modernizing their online benefits platforms, a great option for the majority of users but one that risks further disenfranchising the most vulnerable workers and their families.

“The communities that don’t have the technical know-how or access to technology to use [the UI websites], they are the ones who suffer, and that's where the difference is,” said Jocelyn Armand from the Legal Services of Greater Miami. In 2011, Florida moved to offering only online UI applications, though 33.3 percent of its population earning less than $20,000 a year don’t have an internet subscription. The state lifted that requirement and reintroduced paper applications during the statewide shutdown; still, thousands struggled with their options.

“The portal wasn’t mobile-friendly,” added Armand. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) reported in April that, “86 percent of state government unemployment websites fail at least one basic test for mobile page load speed, mobile friendliness, or accessibility.”

IT Upgrades Aren’t the Answer

As one of many states to fully modernize its UI systems after the last recession (and with the explicit goal of decreasing the amount of people able to successfully file an application), Florida still emerged as one of the slowest states in the nation to process the flood of claims during this pandemic. Several news stories, research reports, and Congressional testimonies from UI experts have well documented the struggles with UI systems faced in Florida and across the nation—many of which still run on mainframes and are written in COBOL, an antiquated programming language from 1959. Even among the states that upgraded their IT systems, mistakes were made throughout the process that resulted in “significant disruption in service, systems breakdowns, and further claims backlogs and delays,” said Rebecca Dixon, Executive Director of NELP, in testimony before the U.S.House Budget Committee.

When he was first furloughed from his regional sales manager position in April, Baron spent the better part of two weeks attempting to access the state’s UI site. Spending hours filling out the form, he had to be swift “because it would kick me off and make me start from the beginning,” said Baron, who lives in Miramar, Florida.

Micala, a customer service agent from Detroit, also faced similar problems. “If you make a typo, you can’t go back and fix it. You need to reach out to their tech support to fix. So, it takes a significant amount of time.”

In Puerto Rico, technical glitches in its UI system left thousands of the island’s unemployed waiting for weeks to receive their checks. The glitch: checks were held up at the post office because the government’s UI portal had addressed each letter to “Same”. Applicants provided their home addresses, but when asked for their mailing address, they wrote “same as above.” Since they’re short-staffed like many unemployment offices, no one caught the mistake.

“They didn’t have the capacity with people and the technology to handle demand,” said Charlotte Gossett Navarro, Puerto Rico Chief Director at the Hispanic Federation.

The circumstances in Puerto Rico, where 36.8% of the population don’t have internet access and 28.4% don’t have a computer, had become quite dire. The local government was forced to open its UI offices. Talia, a freelancer, tried her luck to go in person, only to find herself among a sea of thousands who were also unable to file their claims online. This was her best option since online appointment slots were taken up until September.

“[La aplicación] fue frustrante, pero ya estamos acostumbrados. The application was frustrating, but we're already used to it,” said Talia, who is also a single mom of three. “Nosotros acá en Puerto Rico ya sabemos que hay que sentarse y esperar a que ellos quieran cumplir con su deber. Sabemos que será tedioso, frustrante, y que tardará mucho tiempo. We in Puerto Rico already know that you have to sit and wait for them to want to do their duty. We know it will be tedious, frustrating, and take a long time.”

Digital Literacy Among Black and Latinx Workers

The National Skills Coalition reports that over half of Latinx workers and half of Black workers have limited or no digital skills. These disparities in digital literacy, or one’s ability to use and navigate technology, make it even harder for workers that lack these skills to successfully apply for benefits online.

“There are so many different links, and other processes that you're not accustomed to,” said Ryan, a finance manager from Lexington, Kentucky about his first experience applying for UI. “It was hard for someone like me to understand, and I use a computer at work all the time.” He later added that it must be even more challenging for people who are not tech savvy.

But it isn’t only people who lack digital skills or internet access that have struggled, the disability community is also at a significant disadvantage when it comes to the digital divide. Pew found that 67 percent of adults between the ages of 18-64 with disabilities owned a laptop or computer, compared to 84 percent of adults with no disabilities. The percentage of adults with disabilities that had home broadband was 66 percent, compared to 80 percent for adults without disabilities.

The American Association for People with Disabilities (AAPD) provides recommendations for how to improve the experiences of people with disabilities when it comes to technology, including making websites more accessible. ITIF also has called on Congress to include funds for UI website upgrades in future stimulus packages which will maintain states’ UI Trust Funds. States still need to adopt best practices in user-centered design, agile contracting, iterative development, and in recruiting tech talent—as many states and the federal government have done through the creation of digital service teams. Ultimately, though, the focus has to be on improving the usability of applications online and offline.

Governments should view technology for what it is: a tool, and not a solution. The move to online applications cannot come at the expense of applicants that cannot, or choose not to, file online. When designing applications, here are just a few things states should consider:

• State employees, including the Governor, should go through the process of applying for UI so that they can experience firsthand what applicants go through when applying.
• States should offer multiple ways to apply, including options that do not require internet access or a computer
• States websites and application processes must be 508 compliant and fully usable for members of the disability community
• Websites and applications must be mobile-responsive
• Content should be written in plain language and in multiple languages
• Processes, documentation, and requirements should be clear and concise
• An applicants’ claim status should be clear and appeals should be easy to file
• Sites should autosave applications during the process and warn users when a session will end
• States should design systems with users and get their feedback through usability testing
• It should be easy to speak to a human that can provide clear instructions and help, whether on the phone, in person, or via chat