If first you don’t succeed — try, and try again.
That is precisely what those recently laid off amid the coronavirus pandemic have been trying to do. It has been well-reported that the pandemic resulted in more than 16 million jobless claims in the last three weeks alone.
That number is expected to climb again next week.
Governor Andrew Cuomo acknowledged that there were issues with New York’s unemployment system, which saw hundreds of thousands of calls and claims in the first two weeks of the economic shutdown associated with COVID-19.
The old website crashed, failed to get residents through the process, and in few cases delivered ideal results.
Now, the state has launched a new, redesigned interface through a partnership with Google and Verizon.
“This morning at about 9:15, I got a phone call from unemployment saying that my claim had been filed and if they had anymore questions they would contact me and I didn’t need to contact them any further. That was probably the best phone call I’ve received in quite sometime,” said Jessica Rich. She spoke with 13WHAM about her experience from start to finish.
Officials say that with the new process — instead of residents needing to place a call with the Department of Labor for unemployment — even after filling out information online — a rep from their office will call you. It’s an important change between the old- and new systems.
They also note that those who started applications on the old site shouldn’t have to fill out anything new, or apply again.
Everyone will receive a phone call from reps within a few days of applying.
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