Dept. of Labor offers tips for faster service

DENVER - Mondays are a tough day at work for many people. Turns out, it's also one of the worst days to call the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

It's just one piece of information claimants should know to increase their chances of getting their questions answered.

9NEWS viewers report continued problems with getting through to the call center at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Some say they either get a constant busy signal, or are put on hold for long periods of time without ever getting someone on the phone.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment says it is still dealing with a record number of claims and calls.

Steve Fowler, director of unemployment insurance, says the department has made changes in the last six weeks to accommodate the volume. Improvements include creating a new temporary call center and hiring 100 people to staff it.

"We've done an awful lot in a very short period of time to decrease the call volume," Fowler said. "From January we were doing about 3,000 calls a week. The last full week we had we did 14,000 calls, over 14,000 calls in a week. So we've got the volume up to where we think we're most of what needs to be done within a week."

He recognizes it is still difficult to reach a representative on the phone, and that some people are frustrated.

"I certainly understand that. It's not ideal. It's what goes on everywhere. I talked to a lady who runs the Texas Unemployment Insurance, and they run the same kind of numbers. They were giving out 500,000 busy signals a week. It's hard to describe the amount of demand. The dilemma is, because we have an extensive training program to be able to answer the technical questions around UI (unemployment insurance), we have a six to eight week training program. So to bring on a hundred people, get them all trained, get them up to speed to answer the questions, it's a very difficult process for us, and we're running out of room. That's a training issue, it's a resource issue, it's where do we put them. And all of that gets fairly complicated. And there is a money issue. There is not an endless supply of money. We do have to balance that within a budget as well," Fowler.

Fowler says those who have questions about unemployment benefits should check the department's website first, or use the automated "self help" line. He also wants people to know that certain days are better than others for getting through to the call center.

"To the most frustrated people, I would say give it your best shot on a Thursday or a Friday, that's really when we can be most responsive. We just are besieged on a Monday and a Tuesday, and we've looked at everything we could think of to get around that, but we just can't stage the demand," Fowler said.

He says currently the average wait time is 45 minutes, which is a vast improvement.

"Our wait time in January was over two hours, our wait time in July was over three hours, and so to bring it down to under 45 minutes for the week, has been quite an effort. We're still at record numbers. I think we still have more people on unemployment then we've had before, and we're still taking record numbers of calls," he said.

Fowler says people who do get put on hold should not hang up because they will just have to start their 45 minute average wait time all over again.

"The best thing that people can do is if they can wait until Wednesday or Thursday or Friday afternoon, we have our wait times down below 45 minutes, and we have almost no busy signals, especially on a Thursday or a Friday afternoon," he said.

Fowler says many people have questions about the latest extension of benefits passed by Congress. It went into effect Nov. 8, but Fowler says the checks to eligible Coloradans will not go out until mid or late December.

He says there are always weeks of lag time each time an extension of benefits becomes effective. He says the department must first receive a letter from the federal government and then spend several weeks changing all of the department's computers to reflect new eligibility requirements and guidelines for distributing the funds.

The Colorado Department of Labor just received the letter on Friday, Nov. 13.

Fowler says those eligible for the extension of benefits will be notified by the department.

"It's basically automatic, if they've been filing on their cub line, and filing their continued claim, they should always file their continued claim, they don't need to call us, they just need to file their continued claim, and we'll process it for them on their tier 3 application and let them know when their money would be available," Fowler said. "It's effective as of Nov. 8, so if they came off state extended benefits, or if they came off tier 2 extended benefits, that would be the first date that it would be available for them."

Fowler says he can't encourage people enough to use the department Web site: www.coworkforce.com.

"If you can deal with us on the internet, or with our self help line, that's the best. And if you really do have to call, call on a Thursday or a Friday," he said.

The unemployment rate in Colorado fell from 7.3 percent in August to 7 percent in September. The Department of Labor and Employment does not have a listing of the average wait times for call centers in other states, but says almost all states have been experiencing record high call volumes and wait times. The states with the highest levels of unemployment are California, Michigan, Nevada, Rhode Island, Oregon, Indiana and South Carolina.

The Department of Labor and Employment provided 9NEWS a list tips to avoid problems in handling unemployment claims:

1. Use the Internet application for filing both new claims and bi-weekly filings. There is no wait when you file online - and it's available 24/7!

2. If filing your bi-weekly filing, try doing it later in the week instead of Sunday night. You are not obligated to make your bi-weekly filing on Sunday or even Monday. The system is being overloaded on those days.

3. When making your bi-weekly filing by phone, be very careful when responding to the questions. Occasionally, a question will be changed or a new question added. If you are trying to respond too quickly or without listening carefully, you may make a mistake in your bi-weekly reporting - a mistake that might be time consuming to resolve.

4. If wanting to verify that your CAP Card was mailed, wait 24 hours after you have completed the filing and then go into the CUB System, under option 3 and check for the date of last warrant mailed.

5. If you have a question, search the Web site, your handbook and other claim materials for the answer. You'll probably find the answer quickly in one of those locations. Here's the Web address: http://www.coworkforce.com/UIB/information.asp.

6. Be pro-active in regard to getting your first CAP Card on a new claim. Be sure that you are registered with your local workforce office, complete and return all required forms right away, complete your bi-weekly filings on a regular schedule, verify that they took in the system. If in doubt, remember that it takes about three to five weeks to get most claims processed, and if your last employer paid you some "other pay" it could postpone benefits, for the time/hours they paid you for.