Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo was again beaten by lawmakers during a budget hearing on Wednesday, with lawmakers criticizing his department for taking so long to distribute unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

Almost every legislator on the Assembly Budget Committee shared the story of someone who contacted their office for help resolving an unemployment or disability claim. Congresswoman Eliana Pintor-Marin (D-Essex), chair of the committee, mentioned a constituent who owes 36 weeks of unemployment benefits and received a notice of termination from the PSE&G.

“It’s people’s livelihoods,” Pintor-Marin said.

Asaro-Angelo, who appeared before the committee to answer questions about his department’s budget request, defended state workers who have processed nearly 2 million requests since April 2020 and told lawmakers why some people are still asking for help with their unemployment claims more than two years after the pandemic led to massive job losses. The hearing lasted three hours.

The Department of Labor is asking for $15 million in the next budget, which must be passed by the Senate and State Assembly and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy by July 1. The department received $7 million in the current budget but spent less than half, according to budget documents. About 95% of the department is funded by the federal government.

Asaro-Angelo and his department have come under heavy criticism from lawmakers who say their offices have become de facto centers of unemployment, with residents calling in to say they haven’t received the benefits they’ve been receiving. they should have received months ago. He heard the same criticism during a public hearing in March.

The commissioner discussed modernizations to the unemployment system — claims were updated last week to be in “plain language” — and apologized to the thousands of New Jerseyans who have had to wait months to get paid.

Some lawmakers have questioned whether the $15 million requested by his department would be enough to keep him staffed in the event unemployment claims spike again.

Assemblyman Hal Wirths (R-Sussex), a former state labor commissioner, praised Asaro-Angelo for the work he has done leading the department during the pandemic.

Wirths said what concerns him is that people are not returning to the public sector and there are 11 million vacancies statewide waiting to be filled. Wirths also echoed other lawmakers who said the department needs to improve customer service and direct communication with applicants, including at the state’s one-stop career centers, where employees of the State provide services to job seekers.

“Two years and two months into the pandemic, I think we definitely need One-Stop customer service. You might not like to hear it, but I get more calls from people who are just lost,” Wirths said. “There will always be those people who walk into a one-stop shop who just need help.”

Asaro-Angelo placed much of the blame for the problems in the state unemployment system on the federal government. He reminded lawmakers Wednesday that these problems exist across the country — even in states that have spent billions of dollars trying to upgrade their systems.

“Their legislature is screaming at their commissioner of labor as much as you guys are,” he said.