Monday, July 6, 2009 is a state holiday; the Call Center will be closed but customers can access self-service internet claims.

From now through mid-July, the department is experiencing a seasonal increase in unemployment claims, due to routine, short-term shutdowns of numerous companies. Call Center wait times are now averaging 40 minutes.

To file a claim by telephone, please call (401) 243-9100 during the call center business hours listed below:

Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to noon*
Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

* On Wednesday, July 8, Call Center hours will be extended to 5 p.m. to accommodate an anticipated increase in customer demand.

Please note that Mondays and Tuesdays typically experience the highest volume of calls during the week; callers experiencing difficulty earlier in the day may wish to try after 3:00 pm.

If you are having difficulty reaching the call center, you may also email questions to uihelp@dlt.ri.gov. Please include your full name, phone number and hometown in your email. Most emails are answered between three and four business days. Hearing impaired customers may call our TDD line at (401) 243-9149.

 

Changes to TeleServe hours

Starting on June 15th, Teleserve will be available all day Sunday, and Monday through Friday, 3:00 p.m.-7:00 a.m. However, between 6:45 pm and 9 p.m. Teleserve will be unavailable so that the Department of Information Technology can conduct daily system processing.

 

New customers may file online for regular unemployment at https://uiclaims.state.ri.us/RI-ICS/Intro/Index.aspx?AC=yes. Those interested in state extended benefits or federal emergency unemployment compensation cannot apply online at this time, and must apply by phone at (401) 243-9100.

To check the status of your claim, click Access Account Information. You will need your BYE (Benefit Year Ending), Social Security number and PIN number to check your status.

Update for Monday, June 29th: Currently, DLT staff members are processing online applications for the week ending June 27th. The average turn-around time for UI claims filed online is now five days.

If you have returned to work any time since you last collected unemployment insurance, you cannot use TeleServe until you either refile your claim or file a new claim. Both filing and refilling can be accomplished by contacting the UI Call Center during business hours or by entering the appropriate data through our internet filing system.

Currently, the department oversees three separate unemployment insurance programs: regular Unemployment Insurance, Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation and State Extended Benefits. Eligibility requirements for each program are different, and must be determined on a case-by-case basis.

A customer may only receive benefits from one unemployment insurance program at a time. Those who have exhausted their regular Unemployment Insurance benefits will be notified by mail if they may be eligible for Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation. Similarly, those who have exhausted their Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits will be notified by mail if they may be eligible for State Extended Benefits. Please click on the highlighted links above to learn more about each program.