Esd.

ESD’s claims system, launched in 2017, isn’t mobile-friendly.

But she concedes ESD has a lot of work to do before the next economic downturn.

Richards speculates that many people who struggled with ESD’s online system during the pandemic still have “a lot of trauma and concern” and fear that even a small mistake will delay benefits or get flagged for fraud.

The result: Although callers who get through spend less time on hold — 16 minutes in February versus 36 minutes a year ago — a larger share of callers still get a high-call-volume message, according to ESD data.

Smith waited nearly two months for her first payment and just last week got a response from ESD to a message she’d sent months ago asking for help.