Pa. ending computer-system contract with IBM

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Corbett’s state Department of Labor and Industry is ending a multiyear contract with IBM to modernize Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation computer system after dedicating close to $170 million to the project.

Labor and Industry Secretary Julia Hearthway said today that the seven-year-old project is 42 months behind schedule and $60 million over budget. She says it has problems that cannot be solved.

The original contract was for $106.9 million in 2006 and it expires Sept. 30 after no-cost extensions were allowed to assess the program. It was designed to calculate and provide unemployment compensation benefit payments in Pennsylvania.

Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute says it identified numerous problems with the design and implementation of the system. Its study was commissioned by the department last year.