Unemployment claims overwhelm DOL website; agency adds hours, new procedures
People wait in line for help with unemployment benefits in Las Vegas. Labor departments nationwide are bracing for a spike in claims. Credit: AP/John Locher
Workers idled by the coronavirus are overwhelming the state Department of Labor's website and telephone lines to file for unemployment benefits, the department said Tuesday.
"This massive surge created intermittent interruptions in service," DOL said in a statement. "Our team is continuing to fix the problem as we monitor the situation around the clock."
By noon Tuesday, the department had received more than 21,000 calls from people seeking to apply for unemployment insurance, compared with 2,000 for all of last Tuesday. The number of website visits was 110,000 on Tuesday, up from 42,000 a week ago.
To address the increased demand, the department has changed how its accepts new applications.
Claimants with last names starting with A through F should apply on Mondays, G-N on Tuesdays and O-Z on Wednesdays. Thursdays and Fridays are for people who missed their filing day.
“Filing later in the week will not delay payments or affect the date of an individual's claim, since all claims are effective on the Monday of the week in which they are filed,” the department said Tuesday.
“We are adding staff but to make it more efficient for people, we’re requiring that [claimants] file on a certain day,” a DOL spokeswoman said.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has signed an executive order waiving the 7-day waiting period for people to begin receiving benefit checks if they are out of work because of the coronavirus.
Statewide, about 200,000 people filed for unemployment insurance per week in February, according to the most recent available data.
Claimants may apply online at labor.ny.gov/unemploymentassistance.shtm, starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at different times depending on the day.
They also can file by phone at 1-888-209-8124, from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday. Saturday hours have been added, from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Claimants must provide information including their Social Security number, mailing address and telephone number, employer’s address and other information, bank routing number so benefits checks can be deposited in a checking account, and a drivers license, if they have one.
“You can file a claim without all of these documents. However, missing information can delay your first payment,” DOL said on its website.
Step-by-step instructions on how to file a claim may be found at labor.ny.gov/ui/pdfs/unemployment-filing-instructions.pdf.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
'That's a shame' Port Jefferson and Amityville are dropping their varsity football programs for the 2026 season. Newsday's High School Sports Editor Gregg Sarra reports.
'That's a shame' Port Jefferson and Amityville are dropping their varsity football programs for the 2026 season. Newsday's High School Sports Editor Gregg Sarra reports.
