Mass. Computer Contract Had Many Problems

A state contract for a computer system to process unemployment claims provided few protections for taxpayers and little oversight of consultants, resulting in a system that arrived years late, millions of dollars over budget, and riddled with problems.

The Boston Globe reports that the deal allowed contractor Deloitte Consulting miss deadlines and still charge the state about $6 million more than planned.

When the new system went online July 1, two years behind schedule, it erroneously cut hundreds of jobless workers from their benefits, and required thousands of overtime hours by state employees to handle complaints about glitches.

The problems were outlined in state documents obtained by the Globe through a public records request.

Deloitte had no comment on the problems but described the project as "complex and challenging."