Albany woman forced to return to work after surgery as Paid Leave Oregon benefits stall

PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – An Albany woman was forced to go back to work just a few weeks after surgery while her benefits from Oregon’s Employment Department continue to stall.

Corina Thompson enjoys her job at Bi-Mart. But in March, she had to take several weeks off for abdominal surgery.

She filled out the necessary forms for Paid Leave Oregon nearly 30 days beforehand, but never received any of the money. Thompson’s friends and family pitched in to cover her bills, but without a paycheck, she still risked losing her apartment.

Without that money, she was forced to go back to work roughly one week earlier than doctors recommended.

“You’re not supposed to go back after a surgery for up to six weeks,” she said. “I am almost at my six weeks post-op, but I’m still a little bit sore inside.”

Thompson’s story is the latest in a string of stories from Oregonians frustrated with OED’s system. Since the Frances Online website launched in late February, KOIN 6 News has covered various cases of people reaching out for help only to wait for hours on hold, get hung up on or end up without anything at all.

Thompson said she keeps getting notices on her account saying it is pending, and Bi-Mart received a letter from April 3 that she had received the green light for at least 21 days.

OED sent KOIN 6 News the following statement:

We certainly empathize with people who have to wait for benefits. We understand that people who need paid leave aren’t always in a place where they can wait. However, we need time to make sure customers are both eligible for the program and that they are who they say they are. Right now, that’s taking an average of 29 days, but there are many reasons why a certain claim may take longer than the average 29 days. We can’t comment on a specific claim without a release, but we can describe some of the issues that make a claim take longer. One common delay is when someone doesn’t reply to our additional questions for identify verification. Another is not uploading all of the necessary documents, or if they do upload the documents, they may have filled out the forms incorrectly. Sometimes their medical providers’ documents don’t match what the customer applied for, for example the medical condition, the amount of leave needed, or who is covered by it.

All of these issues can delay the claim while we work with the individual to get the right information that we need to make sure they are eligible for the program. We understand that some people face more difficulties than others, and we have a team of complex-claim specialists who reach out to these folks to give them the extra support they need. Even then, sometimes it takes several more weeks to get all of the issues resolved.

KOIN 6 News also reached out to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s office, but we have yet to receive a response.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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