The Oregon Employment Department has completed a $106 million multi-year effort to replace its outdated computer system.
But some users say they are running into a familiar problem: trouble contacting the agency.
“If you try to call, you either get a busy signal or you get a four-hour wait time,” Laura Crook, a laid-off computer programmer in Scappoose, told OPB. Crook’s experience has been echoed by others who have spoken to OPB and reflects complaints filling up online message boards about the agency.
In many cases — including Crook’s — claimants who had previously received benefits using the old website are confused at why their claim was flagged when they started using the new website, Frances Online. Fueling their frustration is their inability to reach the department.
Crook had been receiving benefits since September, but hasn’t gotten an unemployment check since the new system was implemented earlier this month, and hasn’t been able to speak with anyone at the department about her specific claim.
“We understand that people need these benefits,” David Gerstenfeld, director of the Oregon Employment Department, told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s why we’re making this change and why we’re focused on making it as smooth as possible. It does take a little bit of time when you have so many people transitioning to a brand new technology at once for everybody to get used to it.”
In early March, the Oregon Employment Department completed its rollout of the $106 million website and technology upgrade. Claimants for both Paid Leave Oregon and unemployment insurance benefits now submit weekly benefits applications on Frances Online, which OED leaders have continually said is more user friendly and secure.
Frances Online is replacing a system that dated back to the 1990s. Multiple state audits have found the old system was unable to handle complex claims or respond to rule changes. These issues bubbled to the surface during the pandemic when an onslaught of suddenly unemployed Oregonians applied for benefits and overwhelmed the system.
The department is still working through issues that stem from the pandemic, and agency leaders have said migrating to Frances Online should help alleviate the technical issues made apparent when COVID-19 hit. At the same time, Gerstenfeld has repeatedly said the agency is understaffed and underfunded.
For the migration to Frances Online, the department was able to secure funding to hire around 40 temporary staff members through August of this year. Also, state lawmakers recently approved an additional $45 million for the agency, but leaders say they won’t get that money until later this year.
Agency leaders stress that Frances Online is working for the majority of claimants. However, department leaders were not able to quantify how many people were running into the same issue as Crook. Agency leaders also acknowledged the long wait times for callers.
Crook said it appears as if the agency is facing some of the same challenges it had in 2020, especially in terms of communicating with claimants.
“We’re in dire straits,” she said, “and technology is now blocking us from help we desperately need.”
Copyright 2024 Oregon Public Broadcasting.