Unemployment Office Maryland Claims Department

Calling the Maryland unemployment office was not the easiest experience. A caller to listen to a lot of recorded information and react quickly while trying to sort out who you need to work with. As this was my first time ever applying for unemployment, I was already uncomfortable. I just wanted to talk to someone to make sure that I filed my claim correctly and I would think others are in the same boat. That said, I did get to talk to someone, but not before wading through all the directories. 

There are probably many reasons why people end up talking to the unemployment office. Some might be at the start of the claims process, while others might be attempting to get their training through the workforce department approved. If's likely that a good many are trying to correct claims that didn't get filed correctly or did not get paid. In view of all that, the overall wait of four minutes wasn't terrible, but the messaging is certainly repetitive and may even prove irritating to some callers. It won't be everyone's cup of tea to have a call system remind them that they can go online to complete a task, for example, since if they're reaching out by phone they have obviously chosen not to go online. 

When you call, a voice says, "Welcome to the Maryland Unemployment Insurance Claims Center." It then tells you to press 1 for English and 2 for Spanish. After that, it instructs you to listen carefully and starts the first script which says: "Unless exempt, claimants must search for work each week. Otherwise their claims may be denied. If all of your wages were earned online, you can file online at www.mduneemployment.com."

One that spiel was concluded, it told me to use their voice-activated system: I just had to say what I needed. I said, "Talk to an agent." It then asked me if I was calling about an existing or recently closed claim or looking to file a claim. I told it that I wanted to file a new claim and then it asked if I had worked in Maryland in the last 18 months and stated that I was strongly encouraged to go online. 

I didn't want to do that so I stayed on the phone and then it told me to have the addresses, names, social security numbers, and all the information for people I have worked for. It added to also have the birthdays of my children available. 

It then told me, "If you would like to speak to an agent now, press 1. To gather all of your information and wait ten minutes, please press 2." I chose option one and then some jazzy music played. It only took a few minutes past that for someone to pick up my call. The person who answered was able to help me file my claim, so overall I got what I needed from the call.