Bronx, NY- With a record number of New Yorkers filing for unemployment due to COVID-19 related layoffs, many filers with incomplete applications are missing follow-up calls from the New York State Department of Labor.
“Now is not the time for anyone who has lost their job to miss calls from the DOL about their claim,” said Cabrera. “It’s totally understandable that DOL employees who are working from home and might be using a personal mobile number to call applicants would want to keep that number private. But the agency must resolve this issue so that applicants who need to take additional steps to finalize their claims get the information they need,” said Cabrera.
DOL employees trying to protect their privacy while doing their jobs from home are unable to reach applicants who fear the blocked telephone number belongs to a scammer, and don’t answer agency representatives’ calls. “I totally get it,” said Cabrera. “We’re all in uncharted territory, trying to figure out how to get our jobs done and help the people who most need it, having never experienced being the nation’s epicenter of a pandemic. I’m asking the Department of Labor to find ways- through technology, different modes of communication- to resolve this issue so people can receive their unemployment benefits. DOL’s services are critical to people’s lives and we need a process that works.”
Council Member Cabrera is available for interviews.
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