PORTLAND, Oregon — Since the state launched its Paid Leave Oregon program on Sept. 3, 2023, KGW has received a significant number of emails about issues with their claims — including fraud and delays in payments — with two families saying they have yet to receive any money in two months.
Ashley and Joseph Adamo of Saint Helens are one of the thousands who applied for Oregon's 12-week paid leave program after welcoming their now 7-week-old son Vinny into the world. But like many others, getting benefits from the program hasn't gone as planned.
"It's horrible that anyone has to go through an experience like this,” said Ashley, holding her newborn.
"We did this two months ago? Just about two months now. And neither one of us have been paid," Joseph added.
The Adamos are currently stuck in one of the verification steps of the program. They said they spent several days on the phone — stuck on hold for hours — just to be told they have to wait longer after their documents were sent to the wrong department, among other errors.
Joseph showed KGW a letter from Paid Leave Oregon that read, “Paid Leave Oregon sent a decision on Nov. 30, 2023, with letter ID [withheld ID Number.] We have canceled this decision because it was sent in error. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.”
“I don’t really care for an apology,” said Joseph. “I just want my money. I want it to be done right. This letter was just to say we are sorry — and that’s it. There was no ‘We’re sorry, so we’re going to do this, and we fixed this.’ It was just ‘We’re sorry and we will keep making you wait, and we don’t know when we’re gonna get paid.’”
The director of Paid Leave Oregon, Karen Humelbaugh, wasn't available for an interview but shared that the agency has doubled the number of investigators to 25 to work on ID verification and delayed claims. Humelbaugh confirmed with KGW that others are also waiting two months for payments.
The agency sent KGW an email, stating, "We knew there would be bumps as there is with any new system, but we have processed more than 38,000 applications and paid out more than $188 million in benefits since Sept. 3, 2023. We are committed to continuous improvement and plan to keep making changes to improve the process and the program for our customers."
"... I was really upset,” said Chad Woff, who has been waiting months for his $6,000 Paid Leave Oregon payout. "A program that's supposed to help you has really been the worst, stressful experience. Even worse than my parents' health."
Woff applied to the program to take care of his dad with dementia and his mom with a broken hip. He too said his documents were sent to the wrong department.
"Just talk about a system that has completely failed somebody," said Woff.
But even after getting to the right department, delays continued. Woff was flagged as a fraud claim after his payout reached $5,000 and was back to square one. He's now two months behind on his rent; his credit score has taken a hit; and it's taken a mental toll.
"I'm highly disappointed in you,” said Woff, addressing the directors of Paid Leave Oregon. “Morally and ethically, you have taken lives and have turned them upside down, and you have no consequences."
"They should have made sure that everything was right and worked and that we would be able to get these people their money in a reasonable time,” added Joseph. “If not, then maybe we should hold off and do the program next year."
Paid Leave Oregon told KGW they believe the program has been an overall success and deny claims have been delayed due to being sent to the wrong department. They explained that delays can happen for several reasons, like not including the correct documents and not replying to their additional document requests, then added they would be looking into both of these delayed cases.