BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Unemployed Workers Union (UWU) took its battle again to the circuit court docket for a renewed push to get claims of unpaid advantages out to Marylanders.

“People need this money to feed their families, people need this money to pay off bills, people need this money while they look for jobs,” UWU legal professional Alec Summerfield stated.

READ MORE: Pittman To Testify In Support Of Bill To Study Health And Economic Impacts Of Development Near BWI

On Monday, the group filed one other lawsuit in opposition to the Maryland Department of Labor. The union needs the circuit court docket to evaluate the company’s dealing with of unpaid advantages.

“Our petition argued that we need the court to step in as they are allowed to under law and review administrative actions that are in violation of the law,” Summerfield alleges.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Maryland Department of Labor stated it paid out near $14.5 billion in unemployment advantages.

READ MORE: All Aboard! ‘Where’s Marty?’ Heads To Baltimore’s B&O Railroad Museum

At this time, greater than 99 p.c of non-fraudulent and correctly accomplished claims have been processed.

The backlog of claims can also be almost accomplished whereas a ultimate batch of “highly complex cases” nonetheless require an intensive evaluate, the company defined.

The Maryland Department of Labor stated in an announcement that unemployment fraud has been a major problem because the starting of the pandemic.

“To date, our fraud prevention team has flagged nearly 1.8 million claimants—and 2.3 million total claims—as potentially fraudulent,” the assertion stated. “We have received more fraudulent claims than honest and deserving claims and just last week legislation was introduced in the Maryland legislature to double the penalties for Unemployment Insurance fraud, which have not been updated in more than 35 years.”

MORE NEWS: Lawmakers Gather In Dundalk To Draw Attention To Maryland’s Crumbling Bridges

The UWU first filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Maryland Department of Labor in July. A circuit choose later dismissed their movement.