Photo: Ford, Brad
Some Oregonians are still struggling to use the new Frances Online system to get unemployment benefits.
The Oregon Employment Department says the number of people using Frances Online increased two percent over the last week to 89 percent.
More than half of people trying to call for help are waiting over 15 minutes for their calls to be answered.
Nearly 15-million-dollars in benefits were paid last week. “We are pleased to see that more and more people are using Frances Online and getting used to the new system,” Unemployment Insurance Director Lindsi Leahy said. “At the same time, call volume and wait times for our Contact Center remain high and we acknowledge the frustration that causes our customers. We are working as quickly as we can to answer questions and provide the support they need. We also want to remind customers of all the ways to contact us, including sending a message from their Frances Online account, or using our online Contact Us form, chatbot, and live chat in multiple languages. We will continue to monitor the system, listen to customer feedback, and make improvements to give Oregonians a better level of customer service.”
Agency Director David Gerstenfeld explained what obstacles the agency is facing as it strives to improve customer service. “Our biggest challenge is that we still have significant workloads and we lack the federal funding to hire enough people to provide the customer service Oregonians deserve. We are very grateful to the Oregon State Legislature for its support during the 2024 session.”
The new system went live a month ago.