Thousands of Kentuckians whose unemployment benefits expired the day after Christmas may wait weeks before seeing their next payment as the state switches over to the new benefits extension recently passed by the federal government.

Despite the passing of the new coronavirus relief bill, which extended unemployment benefits for those laid off because of the pandemic until March, Kentucky officials must wait to receive guidelines from the federal government before it can begin issuing payments again, according to the state’s unemployment website.

Gov. Andy Beshear blamed the backlog on an old IT system, fewer people working in the unemployment office due to budget cuts and inconsistent guidelines from the federal government on how to issue benefits.

“At the start (of the pandemic) it was, ‘Get it out really fast,’ and then in the middle it was like, ‘Oh wait, you should be spending more time ensuring there’s zero fraud in the unprecedented amount of benefits you’re providing,’” Beshear said. “We’ve had this push and pull that’s made it really difficult.”

In addition, Beshear told reporters during a recent news conference that the state has to reprogram its computer system before it can begin distributing the additional $300 a week added on top of unemployment benefits, another piece included in the federal coronavirus relief bill.