As unemployment numbers reach highs not seen since Great Depression, workers waiting months for checks 

(Erie County, NY) The Erie County Legislature called on the New York State Assembly and Senate to hold hearings regarding the New York State Department of Labor’s handling of unemployment claims. Since mid-March, upwards of  2 million New Yorkers have filed for assistance. But after two months, thousands say that they have not received their first check, or in some cases, even been able to complete their claims. 

In recent days, members of the Governor’s Administration have attempted to fault applicants for the delays, and pointed to warnings from the Secret Service about Nigerian crime rings attempting to game the system. 

But Legislators point to serious issues that the Department of Labor had in responding to the initial crush of requests, which led to the New York State Department of Labor hiring an additional 3,000 employees to process and distribute benefits and the implementation of a new online portal for applications developed by Google. 

“We need to understand what has already happened with our State unemployment system so we can ensure there is a thorough and concise plan for the future,” said Erie County Legislator John Gilmour. “Those who aren’t able to work right now need the certainty of unemployment benefits to feed and support themselves and their families. This isn’t about blame; this is about getting it right for the people we mutually serve in County and State government.”  

The resolution passed unanimously by the Legislature calls on the New York State Assembly and Senate to hold hearings with the Department of Labor and other agency heads in order to account for underlying failures of the current system and to develop a plan to reduce the backlog of claims and to efficiently process new claims. The Legislature also requested that State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli conduct a performance audit of the Department of Labor’s procedures and processing of unemployment claims. 

Copies of the resolution will be sent to Governor Cuomo, Comptroller DiNapoli, Department of Labor Commissioners Roberta Reardon and members of Western New York’s Assembly and Senate delegations. 

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