colorado unemployment phone busy

One issue some employers have is in rehiring workers to reopen their business or qualify for federal Paycheck Protection Plan loan forgiveness. The state will launch its new “virtual agent” system after the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s perpetually over-stressed call center closes Tuesday afternoon, Jeff Fitzgerald, the chief of the state unemployment program, said Thursday. Created through a partnership with Google at a cost of $680,000, the virtual agent — accessible by calling the customer service line (303-318-9000 in metro Denver, 800-388-5515 outside of Denver) or by visiting ColoradoUi.gov — will be available 24 hours a day. (Updated 5/28/20). It’s now taking two to six weeks to get a payment, depending on how complicated the case is. Hope this helps someone. But there are also 10 to 30 times more people calling in every day for help and only 6% of calls to the regular unemployment line have been getting answered, according to the agency. And if you’re one of those folks frustrated with calling in for help, the answer may be out there already. These busy signals follow the layoff of more than 500 state workers who answered phone calls from the jobless to help them file unemployment claims. The bad news? “Along with that came 1,000 calls a day to 20 or 30,000. So many are calling, â¦ People relying on state benefits to survive during the pandemic have been sounding the alarm for months about how hard it is to reach someone at the unemployment call center. Posted by 3 months ago. Fix a date or backdate an existing claim: Ask a question at Dept. Coloradoâs hospitality industry hardest hit by coronavirus unemployment, with claims up 600% in a week. Since the start of coronavirus-related business closures, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment upgraded its computer systems to handle the influx, quadrupled the support staff to answer calls and provided an abundance of information on its site at coloradoui.gov — so unemployed workers should check it frequently. The message just said, âthe unemployment department has been overwhelmed with calls, try the website or call back.â He felt so powerless. 9. It will be able to answer general questions on topics including work search requirements and reopening claims. (Payment requests typically begin two weeks after filing for unemployment.) Apply by Phone: You can also make a claim through phone by dialing (303) 318-9000 for the metro area and (800) 288-5515 for outside-metro area. You can address your claim, or have questions answered about your qualification status directly from the state unemployment office. They’re part of a captive population at the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center outside Fort Collins where there have been no cases of COVID-19 to date. Hang up and try to call the local area phone number for the call center. Date: September 26, 2013 1/36 MyUI Claimant User Guide Version 1.0 September 26, 2013 I have spent DAYS calling the Colorado Unemployment line (CUB line) but it's always busy. That seems to be a better stat than the rest of the nation’s unemployed; one expert has estimated only 60% have been paid nationally, according to a Bloomberg News story. Here are some changes made since March: Regular unemployment benefits are 55% of a person’s average weekly salary (including tips) over a 12-month period. Employers can file a job-refusal form, which the labor agency investigates. Support local journalism around the state.Become a member of The Colorado Sun today! The virtual agent system is employed in several other states, Fitzgerald said. Oregonâs Unemployment Insurance (UI) call center is presently experiencing very high call volumes. If you have filed for unemployment benefits (claimant) and think you should have received a Notice of Decision, or if the phone line or MyUI says you are disqualified or postponed and you don't know why, call the Customer Contact Center at 303-318-9000 or 1-800-388-5515 to find out. The State does not have enough staff to answer the phone â â¦ But changes are on the horizon. That is the line for the Northern California Phone Interview Division of EDD. Colorado began accepting claims for PUA on April 20. Colorado has ramped up its capacity, but soon getting help â¦ “At a high level, I can say that where we can automate or schedule a callback for the issues causing a call, we’re implementing some of those solutions,” said Cher Haavind, deputy executive director for the Department of Labor. It’s a case-by-case ruling by the state. Joe Rubino covers real estate, tech and consumer news for The Denver Post. “And finally, at about 12:30, I got on the phone with someone who just said, ‘Yup, you can change your status to active online now.’”. Again, your Colorado unemployment phone number is: Toll Free: 1-800-388-5515 If a worker is part of a vulnerable group, for example, the employee doesn’t have to return to the job. The ability to leave a message and get a call back is coming, possibly even this week. 47 minutes — Average wait times for regular unemployment between May 1-11. The CARES Act also adds 13 weeks of benefits and can be paid out until Dec. 26. Legions of workers who have been laid off or furloughed say it remains impossible to reach the stateâs unemployment compensation office: The phone lines are forever busy, â¦ As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom in accordance with the Civil Constitution. But you might get a call back on Saturday, when the call center makes only outbound calls to claimants who’ve asked for help. "I got the busy signal and then I finally got through -- and then after 15 minutes it â¦ This includes directly interviewing sources and research / analysis of primary source documents. The rest of them would either just hang up on me immediately, or give me the option to choose English and then hang up on me,” said Scappaticci, an Aurora resident who expects to return to her early-childhood center job in June. Virtual agent to answer Colorado unemployment calls beginning next week, U.S. layoffs remain elevated as 803,000 seek jobless aid, Congress approves $900B COVID relief bill, sending to Trump, Coloradans in Congress vote for COVID relief largely along party lines, Highlights of $900 billion COVID-19 relief, wrapup bills, Congress seals agreement on $900 billion COVID relief bill, Colorado’s unemployment call center will likely never meet COVID-driven demand, as 40,000 calls go unanswered weekly, More than 617,000 Coloradans have filed unemployment claims since mid March. “We’ve been making changes daily.”. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! The maximum benefit is $618 per week and is paid for 26 weeks. UC Service Center Busy Signals: What is an Unemployed Person to Do? Once the technology is better integrated with the state’s system in mid-August, it will be able to provide callers with specific answers to some claims questions. More than 617,000 Coloradans have filed unemployment claims since mid March amid the COVID-19 pandemic. EastIdahoNews.com tried to call the phone number multiple times. He expects that in the early going, callback schedules will fill up quickly, just as the schedule for in-person meetings in the labor department’s lobby have. Surprisingly a lot of readers have said emailing your state unemployment department or agency has worked more effectively than trying to get a live agent. Virtual agent to answer…, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Submit to Stumbleupon (Opens in new window). Staffing at its call â¦ Everyone who qualifies for even just $1 of regular unemployment benefits, will be paid an extra $600 per week as part of the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC), thanks to the federal CARES Act. If the automated system can’t help a caller, it will allow them to schedule a callback from an unemployment office staffer as long as the caller can make themselves available during a two-hour window, Fitzgerald said. * Request payment online through MyUI * Request payment by telephone: 303-813-2800 (Denver metro area) Starting Wednesday, a machine will be answering the Colorado unemployment officeâs customer support line, and busy signals will be a thing of the past. “We should not have those long of wait times, and the department knows that. (Eric Lubbers, The Colorado Sun), Primary category in which blog post is published, How to submit an opinion piece to The Sun, Learn more about Civil’s Credibility Indicators, added a request form for claimants to backdate claims without calling in. 2 NEWS called the stateâs unemployment line. That includes temps and more than 90 agents working at an outsourced call center to handle pandemic claims. Call Center Phone Numbers Toll Free: 1 (877) 600-2722 A spokesman for Gov. “It provides equity for folks getting in. Some workers don’t want to return to old jobs because they make more money on unemployment. I have tried calling the number outside of regular hours, after getting nothing but busy signals for 3 weeks, and busy no matter the time of day. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. one expert has estimated only 60% have been paid nationally, colorado.gov/pacific/cdle/covid-19/town-halls, calls increase 10 fold, with 99,000 calls in a week, Colorado governor pardons parents behind “balloon boy” hoax, 16 others, At risk of extinction, black-footed ferrets in Colorado get experimental COVID vaccine, A new Denver high school modeled after historically Black colleges opens next fall, Colorado’s tiny mountain post offices are hamstrung — for the second straight holiday season, Here’s how Colorado’s unemployed influenced the new federal coronavirus relief bill, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, (720) 263-2338 — Call, text, Signal or WhatsApp. First-time claimants fill out. Is anyone else experiencing this? That means they also lose the pandemic bonus. Calls to the state's unemployment call center are 10-30 times higher than pre-coronavirus. These are the PUAs, or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimants, and include independent contractors, freelancers, gig workers, the self-employed and others who typically receive 1099 tax forms. ... unemployment offices struggled with busy â¦ 3 minutes — Average wait times for pandemic calls, 13 minutes — Average call length for regular unemployment, 10 minutes — Average call for pandemic calls, 1,000 to 1,200 calls are answered daily on the regular employment line, 2,200 to 2,500 calls are answered daily at the pandemic call center, 12,918 unique numbers per day get a busy signal or message to call back later due to “high call volume”. The Unemployment Insurance Call Center is extending its hours Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Expect more how-to videos, callback forms and more technology, like virtual agents, to handle the volume of calls. The benefit is paid as part of their regular bi-monthly request. Unemployment phone number busy regardless of time of day. The payment of unemployment insurance benefits is supported by the collection of premiums from employers. Call centers are open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. You must request the payment of unemployment insurance benefits every two weeks. But if you must call in, here’s what to expect, according to data shared by the Labor Department: This story was updated at 11 a.m. on May 28, 2020 to include new tools and measures the Colorado Department of Labor is rolling out by June 1, 2020. Does anyone know if there is an ACTUAL unemployment OFFICE anywhere within driving distance before I lose my mind? 3. “I would say by any reasonable measure its behind,” Hansen said. No more busy signal. No more busy signal. As many businesses remain closed and unemployment rates skyrocket, it's no secret that people are fed up. Close. ), The agency hosts virtual town halls to answer questions from workers. Dates of employment. State Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver, worked with the labor department on a bill passed in the 2020 legislative session the will reform a number of aspects of the unemployment insurance program including greatly increasing the amount employers pay into the unemployment trust fund in the future. He wrote for the Broomfield Enterprise, Boulder Daily Camera and YourHub before joining the Post's business desk in 2017. The department will also reopen its lobby at 251 E. 12th Ave. in Denver on June 8 for in-person meetings, but only by appointment, which will start June 1. In the first week that hordes of workers lost their jobs due to coronavirus closures, the state’s unemployment call centers saw calls increase 10 fold, with 99,000 calls in a week compared to 9,900 the prior week. In fact under federal guidelines for these programs, states must provide claimants with alternate modes of contact, which may include email, and communicate with the claimant based on his or her preferred method of contact. Hansen said he has helped hundreds of constituents who have reached out for help with their claims and is aware of how hard it has been for many to reach someone at the call center this spring and summer. They said you're supposed to receive a PIN number in the mail (so you can log in to the system, check your status, request funds, etc.) The next one is set for Friday, May 29, at 9:15 a.m. in English and 11:30 a.m. in Spanish (register at, Benefits are retroactive to March 29 and, if you remain eligible, can last until the end of July, Those on regular unemployment don’t have to do a thing to get PUC. Those are to check on a claim status, backdate a claim, reopen a claim, ask banking or payment questions, inquire about missing wages, exhausted benefits, job refusals and pandemic benefits. Starting Wednesday, a machine will be answering the Colorado unemployment office’s customer support line, and busy signals will be a thing of the past. Also waived: the waiting week. âIâve been trying to get through on the phone to the unemployment office as I did yesterday but again I just get a busy signal as soon as I call,â Bill Stahl said. A worker could also lose unemployment benefits if they return to work part-time or receive other job compensation that is higher than their regular unemployment benefits. He hopes that frustration will be short-lived. Another Sun reader, Mike Egan, shared that he called 85 times around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Calls inquiring about PUA claims have been much simpler with average hold times of 3 minutes. After going through the menu, an automated voice message said, âWe are currently experiencing a â¦ Back in January, I blogged about how the state of Colorado is constantly serving up the busy signal to the jobless who need to call in to file for unemployment or to get questions answered. The unemployment division's call center â which has typically been open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday â has expanded to include Saturday hours from 12-4 p.m. The impact of coronavirus closures had 40,000 Coloradans applying for unemployment since Sunday, bringing the total number of official claims and new applicants in â¦ Colorado's unemployment insurance database did not generate the personal identification numbers needed for claimants to request benefit payments, a glitch that â¦ And thank god for nice Vietnamese people, she was quick and more than helpful. One backlog it has eliminated, according to Dickinson, is the number of initial claims awaiting processing. Within a month of the governor’s first orders to restrict crowds, the state’s unemployment agency had doubled the staff from 57 agents in early March at its call centers. Jared Polis this week lauded the work labor department officials have done in the face of skyrocketing needs. I asked her for the phone number in case i got disconnected and she gave it to me. We’ve made system improvements as we were able to and we will continue to make improvements, but we are still in a fairly new territory,” she said. Denver Metro: 303-318-9100 or Toll Free: 1-800-480-8299 Audits: 303-318-9100 cdle_employer_services@state.co.us The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment added a new call-back form to its website Thursday, allowing people to request a call from the stateâs unemployment division within one to two business days. A pen or pencil, and paper - to take notes. Can't do the online thing, keeps telling me to cal. Only W-2 workers, or traditional workers whose employers pay for unemployment insurance, are eligible for the pay. More than 70,813 have applied, including nearly 41,000 in the first week. Requests for payment can be made after registering. within 3-4 days of filing. It also provides time certainty on getting their needs met,” Fitzgerald said. “The department has successfully paid unemployment benefits to more than 500,000 hardworking Coloradans and the staff is working around the clock to help people who have questions about their claims,” spokesman Conor Cahill wrote in an email. Social security number. CLICK HERE TO TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS. The latest from the coronavirus outbreak in Colorado: “I was getting in about five calls a minute, and maybe every 60 or so I would get into the recording. The Colorado Sun — tamara@coloradosun.com He turned to the departmentâs phone lines, which he says were constantly busy. Email. If you are newly unemployed and must call in about filing for the first time, An unemployment insurance chatbot debuted April 22 to answer simple questions, such as who gets that extra $600 a week from the federal government (Answer: Anyone receiving any amount of regular unemployment pay for the week. Jared Polis said he was pardoning the balloon boy's parents, Mayumi Heene and Richard Heene, because "we are all ready to move past the spectacle from a decade ago", For the newly vaccinated ferrets, the main risk is to the animals themselves. Bi-Monthly request CARES Act also adds 13 weeks of benefits and can be paid out until Dec. 26 get. Asked her for the call center demand and then 10,000 on Wednesday asked her for the Broomfield Enterprise, Daily. 12,000 to 14,000 phone calls a day to 20 or 30,000 the writer and confirmed by the editor of... Websites are crashing as the number of unemployment insurance, are eligible for Denver... 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