OKLAHOMA CITY: The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission’s unemployment insurance website page and telephone line were unavailable Monday as both claim systems underwent scheduled maintenance. As of Monday afternoon, the website is back up but contains a message that it’s not accepting claims and asking users to keep checking back to see if the maintenance is finished. The phone system remained down with hopes to have it back up before the end of the day, said Oklahoma Employment Security Commission Chief Information Officer Pete Shipman.
Shipman said the systems were down due to scheduled maintenance through the weekend which required OESC to power down all its systems, but the outage lasted longer than anticipated. Some unemployment insurance claimants said they were notified last week about scheduled maintenance on the systems but that it was set for February 24-26, and was to be back online by 12:01 a.m. February 27. The OESC posted a notice at the top of the website Monday morning that said no initial unemployment claims, continued weekly claims or claim inquiries could be completed as the maintenance continued.
An automated message greets callers when they call the OESC phone number that says, “due to circumstances beyond our control, we are currently unable to take your phone call,’ and then directs callers to call back tomorrow or to visit their website. But the OESC website asks claimants to check back every few hours to determine whether the maintenance has been completed. A viewer contacted us and said she could not access the website or get through when she called Sunday and Monday. Several Facebook users said they still weren’t able to file their weekly claim as of 10:30 a.m. Monday, and that they are worried the delay in filing will delay their weekly payments. Shipman said there would be delays but only by a day or so, depending on when they file. For example, he said if claimants file Monday, they’ll be processed Monday night and should receive them on their state-issued debit cards Tuesday, or by Wednesday if they elected to use direct deposit.
