Jobless rate ticks up in Kansas ctnewsonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ctnewsonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
John Hanna, Associated Press
Story updated at 6:31 p.m. Tuesday:
TOPEKA Gov. Laura Kelly on Tuesday named the Kansas Department of Labor’s deputy secretary as its top administrator as she works to find a permanent leader for the agency, which struggled for months to process a surge in claims from workers left unemployed by the coronavirus pandemic.
New Acting Secretary Brett Flachsbarth is the third person to lead the Department of Labor in less than seven months. Kelly’s first labor secretary, DelÃa GarcÃa, resigned in June amid problems with the system for distributing unemployment benefits. Her replacement, Acting Secretary Ryan Wright, was allowed by law to serve only six months, and that period ended Tuesday.
AP: Deputy named to lead COVID-19-stressed Kansas labor agency 1350kman.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 1350kman.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
As acting head of Kansas labor department steps down, Gov. picks new temporary leader [The Kansas City Star]
Dec. 22 The Kansas Department of Labor’s acting secretary stepped down Tuesday in accordance with state law, but Gov. Laura Kelly has not found a permanent replacement to lead the agency.
In a news release Tuesday, Kelly announced that the state’s deputy secretary of labor, Brett Flachsbarth, will be the new acting secretary.
Flachsbarth follows Acting Secretary Ryan Wright, who served for six months, the maximum amount of time allowed by state law. Kelly will have another six months to announce a permanent secretary or choose a new acting secretary.
Kansas Department of Labor to get new temporary leader
The search for a permanent secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor continues, but the agency will have a new leader, at least temporarily.
Gov. Laura Kelly announced Tuesday that Brett Flachsbarth, KDOL s deputy secretary, will be the acting agency head.
Ryan Wright, who previously was the temporary head of the agency, is prevented by state law from serving more than six months in the post.
The vacancy was created over the summer after the resignation of Delia Garcia, who stepped down after a tumultuous few months for the agency.
The state s unemployment compensation system was overwhelmed with the number of claimants seeking benefits because of economic fallout related to COVID-19, prompting Republican legislators to criticize Garcia s leadership.