And she said the department plans to add more phone lines in the coming weeks. For starters, she said, one reason people are spending longer on hold is that the department’s phones had been hanging up on people. The employment department’s phone lines remain a wreck two months after the coronavirus outbreak began in Oregon. I really hope I do. Subscribe to OregonLive. Heads up: I got through quickly after 5pm, so you may try that. Financially stressed laid-off workers are overloading the agency’s phones. Email oed_covid19_info@oregon.gov Supposedly they are checking emails as much as they can and trying to fix peoples issues with their unemployment. Stuck on hold with unemployment? The state still owes well over $100 million in unpaid claims, though. Laid-off workers are confused and confounded by the department’s faltering claims system, erroneous denials and stubborn silence on key policies and questions. At the peak of the great recession, the number of people filing for unemployment was about 20,000 in one week. © 2021 Advance Local Media LLC. Protip: download an auto redial app (redials at busy signal). When Poole finally got hold of a representative, she … Her claim was denied and she since applied for pandemic unemployment insurance. The Oregon Employment Department’s Contact Us form was created to gather all inquiries related to unemployment benefits. In total, during the pandemic, you potentially could receive up to 52-59 weeks of benefits (more than one year.) Their hellish experiences filing for PUA in Oregon run the gamut, from calling hundreds of times every day and sitting on hold for hours, only to get hung up on, to no communication whatsoever. Last week, the Employment Department only answered about four in every 10 calls — and that was after … Those were categories previously ineligible for benefits and the state has struggled to adapt its aging computer systems to process their claims. Among those who make it that far, two-thirds are cut off without ever receiving a response. I put an auto-dialer app on my phone yesterday and started calling this morning at 8am. -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |. The Contact Us form can be used for these purposes: Ask questions or get help with your claim; Upload documents like … We'll see if I get through to anyone. Your actions can save lives: wear a mask, physically distance, limit your gatherings, stay home when sick, and get a vaccination once it’s available to you. Building a Safe and Strong Oregon. Currently, about 100,000 Oregonians filed for unemployment at the end of last week on April 4. The Oregon Employment Department called her and told her about a mistake she made in her application – then denied her claim and never responded to her appeal of its decision. Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |. The Oregon Employment Department says the average time callers spend on hold has jumped to nearly two hours per call. And while the employment department hasn’t set up an appointment system for calls, like many private companies do during times of heavy call volume, Krumenauer said it has called “thousands” of claimants directly to resolve their issues. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/21). Use the Online Claim System; iMatchSkills Register/Login; Benefits Estimator; Appeals Process; UI Program Updates; UI Help Center. “I was on hold for two hours and 33 minutes,” said Porter-Mitchell. Salem Area: (503) 947-1500. Oregon’s unemployment rate improved in September to 8.0% from 8.5% in August as the state gained back 5,100 jobs, including 2,600 in the leisure and … Oregon congresswoman pushes for public webinars, calls for interim director of employment department to clear backlog of insurance claims Hang up and try to call the local area phone number for the call center. You may qualify for unemployment benefits to partly replace your lost earnings. It will be 20 weeks if Oregon is experiencing high unemployment. Average hold times at Oregon Employment Department spike up to 3 ½ hours -- and most calls are never answered Some callers spend twice that long on hold. 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