A recent report showed that 2.5% of active unemployment claims in Colorado, or approximately 1,208 people, were stuck in program integrity holds, awaiting the review of their claims. This demonstrates a significant decrease from the previous year, during which over 5,000 were in this situation. A program integrity hold is a measure taken to prevent fraudulent unemployment claims but can delay the disbursement of valid claims.

An example of this delay is Jill Snider’s case, who had her $19,000 unemployment funds held for over a year due to a clerical error. Despite trying to contact customer service repeatedly, she was unable to resolve the problem until the news agency got involved. Following their intervention, she received her full payment.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) admitted that Snider’s situation was an exception caused by a staff error. Nevertheless, the department is continuously working toward improving the claimant experience and resolving held-up claims faster. It has implemented several strategies towards this goal, including conducting a process improvement review of hold investigations.

For those experiencing issues with their unemployment claims, advice has been provided to call customer service during less busy hours of the day, specifically between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

If you’re an unemployed individual in California experiencing a similar issue, you can get state-specific assistance by figuring out how to get ahold of edd customer service. A useful online resource in this regard could be eddcaller.com, which can provide guidelines and tips on getting through to the EDD effectively.