Can’t reach KDOL by phone about unemployment? Auto dialers causing problems for all
People who are using automatic phone dialers in an attempt to reach someone with the Kansas Department of Labor about their unemployment claim are jamming the system and making it difficult for others to get through, according to the agency.
Auto dialers don’t work with the phone system at KDOL and won’t allow a caller to connect with someone at the department, said Ryan Wright, special assistant to the acting secretary of labor and former secretary.
It also creates problems for callers who aren’t using the automatic dialers.
“If folks are using auto dialers, it doesn’t help and it won’t get you through to the system,” Wright said. “They’re not compatible and it prevents other people from calling in too. I know that’s frustrating.”
An automatic phone dialer allows someone to place a call every few seconds or minutes. Wright said the agency can track those calls and see how often someone using an auto dialer called in.
Once the auto dialers call and get into the system, they don’t connect with the menu, jamming the phone lines for others too.
The state labor department recently discovered the problem, said Wright. Agency staff had heard the complaints about callers not able to reach anyone by phone. When KDOL looked into the problem, they found the auto dialers, based on the time period between calls.
“We hear the complaints, we get it,” Wright said. “If there’s an issue, we want to fix it.”
The agency is asking people to stop using automatic callers in hopes that more Kansans can speak with someone at KDOL about their claims.
In early December, Wright said most people were able to reach a live human within the first few times of calling in. That changed when call volumes grew larger and more claimants began to use automatic dialers.
Wright said staff know not everyone who calls has the chance to be placed on hold or put into the phone queue.
“We changed the way the call system works, so if your call can’t be answered in 15 minutes, you can’t get in the call queue,” Wright said. “But once you get into the call queue, your call is answered within 15 minutes.”
A person who needs to have the agency escalate their call could wait in the queue longer to be connected with a specialist.
The problems unemployed Kansas have reaching KDOL staff also come at a time when the agency is working to implement new federal unemployment programs signed into law last month, like additional weekly payments and extended benefits for some. More people have called to ask questions about the new programs, too.
“What we’re seeing right now is kind of a perfect storm,” Wright said.
At the beginning of the pandemic, KDOL had about 20 people answering phones. The agency now has about 450 people working the phones or assisting claimants, according to Wright.
“We are still working through some technology challenges,” Wright said. “But where we’re at right now, as the unemployment rate continues to increase, our volume continues to increase.”
For more information or to apply for unemployment benefits, visit www.GetKansasBenefits.gov.
