New York State residents will be unable to use the state’s unemployment insurance system for more than a week because of modernization work. The state Department of Labor said the system will be shut down at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2. The outage is expected to last 9 to 12 days. The department stressed that the downtime could delay benefit payments.
The upgrade will cover the entire IT system and the telephone call center. During that time, residents will not be able to file new claims for benefits, certify their weekly eligibility or log in to their accounts. Both online and phone services will be unavailable. The Department of Labor emphasized that eligible claimants will be able to complete the required steps only after the system is back up.
Officials explained that people who miss the deadline to file a claim or certify their eligibility for a given week will be able to do so retroactively once the upgrade is finished. They also reminded claimants that during the outage, unemployed people must still carry out and document their job search activities. From Nov. 3 to 27, the state’s job search assistance centers will provide services virtually, by appointment booked online in advance. Their staff, however, will not be able to answer questions about unemployment benefits.
According to the Department of Labor, the system now in use is about 50 years old and no longer meets the needs of today’s users. The new platform is meant to streamline the processing of claims, allow services to be used on various devices, including smartphones, and provide access to up-to-date information in real time. The upgrade is also intended to simplify administrative duties for business owners who use the system.
Ed. JŁ
Source: Nowy Dziennik
