New Yorkers on unemployment insurance will have to navigate a shutdown of the system next month as it gets overhauled and modernized. The New York State Department of Labor announced the upgrade of their 50-year-old system for the beginning of November.
Commissioner Roberta Reardon explained the changes are a response to a major shift in people's use of mobile devices.
"One of the benefits of the pandemic is we learned a lot about what customers really expect these days from an online service. And so, we went back in and redesigned a lot of this to make sure that we accommodated it," said Reardon.
The new system will feature real-time claim status, and the ability to save an application to complete at another time or on another device.
Reardon assured New Yorkers the system will be easier to navigate, more robust because it's modern, it's newer, and we have a lot of data that we can analyze. So your information is more secure now with us than it ever has been before."
But the upgrade comes with a delay period that unemployment recipients and new filers will have to manage.
Starting on November 2nd, the unemployment system will be shut down for 9 to 12 days for the change-over.
Changes for People on Unemployment
If you are currently in the unemployment system, you'll need to certify before 5:00 pm on the 2nd to receive your benefits for that week. If you meet the deadline, the money will be deposited in your account on time, by the end of the week, according to the DOL. You will not need a new username or password.
Changes for people who become unemployed
If you lose a job and you're trying to file for new benefits during the delay, you can start a new claim once the system is online. You will be able to backdate the claim to the day you were let go and receive the backdated benefits.
The Department of Labor will offer virtual appointments during that time to help people over the phone. The DOL said other benefits of the new system include better protection against fraud, easier changes as labor laws shift, and 24/7 access for businesses.
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