State Sen. Dennis Bradley says he is investigating dozens of complaints from residents about long delays in receiving unemployment benefits.

Bradley says the statewide problem is due in part to a new "furlough" category created in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russell Billingslea, a local Army veteran who drives a school bus, says he has not gotten a single unemployment check since being laid off months ago.

"I was laid off because they closed the schools and since March, I've been trying to get my unemployment and I'm very frustrated because I can't get nobody on the phone and I'm not getting any recourse and my money's like in limbo," says Billingslea.

Sen. Bradley says his office has created a special liaison that deals exclusively with this problem.