After a nightmarish few weeks for thousands of New Yorkers attempting to apply for unemployment benefits amid the coronavirus, the crisis has little fear.
The state Department of Labor says it is launching a new unemployment application that won’t require applicants to call a number and sit on hold for eternity.
The online application will be offline from 5-7 p.m. ET., Thursday as the new “streamlined” application is rolled out.
Applicants will no longer be required to call the Department of Labor. Instead, call center staff will call applicants within 72 hours of an application being submitted.
NEW: We are partnering with Google, Deloitte and Verizon to improve the reliability of our online and phone UI application systems.
The new DOL Tech Surge will provide a top-to-bottom upgrade to New York State’s unemployment insurance filing system. https://t.co/l2onUzerEq pic.twitter.com/95P6swtmkm
— NYS Department of Labor (@NYSLabor) April 9, 2020
Those who have already submitted applications will also receive calls, NBC 4 and our source reported.
