BUFFALO, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side is working to get more information from the New York State Department of Labor about the unemployment situation and the benefits people are still waiting for.
As some businesses reopen in Phase 2, and more people get back to work, thousands of New Yorkers are still unemployed.
We asked the DOL five questions:
- What is the total dollar amount for benefits paid out to people in the state so far?
- How many people have received benefits?
- How many claims are still pending?
- How many people are still waiting for back pay?
- And, is there a timeline yet to get back pay to everyone who is owed it?
The DOL had 27 hours before our deadline to get back to us with answers.
We did not receive any responses by the time we filed this story. After our deadline, the DOL told us it has “paid over $15 billion in benefits to 2.5 million New Yorkers.”
We did not receive answers to the last three questions on our list and asked for those answers again on Tuesday night.
We were told that 400,000 people have unopened emails from the DOL that include DocuSign links to certify their back pay. It is unclear whether that’s the total number of people waiting for back pay, as we have heard from people who have been certifying their claims each week and are owed back pay.
After months of struggling financially after temporarily being laid off from her job at a restaurant, a Cheektowaga woman has received all of her unemployment benefits. The long wait forced her to apply for public assistance
"I had no access to any money at all," says Susan Phister.
Phister is a server at Tony's on Union Road. She last worked March 13 and filed for unemployment March 17. It took her 80 days to get her unemployment benefits.
And before Phister got her benefits, she had to do something she hoped she'd never have to do again.
"I had to apply for food stamps and public assistance, and that's what crushed me. I'm a single mom of two kids, and I have not had assistance in over eight years. I came from a homeless shelter with my kids, and then we built our way up together as a family to where we have a home. And, we live in a nice neighborhood and go to a nice school, and I felt like I was put back, way back. So, that was what really pushed me over the edge was that I felt like I was being degraded and put back in a place that I never wanted to be back in," said Phister on Tuesday.
"The last time we spoke, you were having car issues. Are you able to fix your car now so you can get back to work once your restaurant reopens?" asked 2 On Your Side’s Kelly Dudzik.
"Yes, I was able to get my car fixed. Three-hundred and fifty dollars, but yes, I did get the car fixed. Thank God," she said.
And, Phister got a call from her boss. They're having a meeting Thursday about reopening.
"Very relieved. Very, very relieved. I can't even begin to tell you. To get my car fixed, I had my phone was broken and would only work occasionally, and it's like everything fell apart. One by one as time went by, everything was falling apart, and I had no resources to keep it all pulled together. So, I've been on the phone trying to pay back bills and do everything that I couldn't do overall these months," said Phister.
Phister says she got her benefits finally on Friday because she spoke up for herself.
"Be persistent and continue to call your Assemblywoman, your Councilmen, their Governor, whatever it takes, don't take no for an answer. Keep being persistent and tell them your situation. Most people have a whole lot of compassion for all of that we're going through, but you have to reach the right people to get the results. A lot of times people try to climb the ladder little by little. And that's what stalls you. Go right to the top and be persistent. That's what I that's how I was able to get to accomplish it," says Phister.
In April, the unemployment rate in Western New York was 19.2 percent. Last week, the New York State Department of Labor released numbers for the week ending May 30. Year-to-year, initial claims filed in our region for that week, were up by more than 300-percent.
2 On Your Side requested an interview with the DOL Commissioner on May 6. We were told in May that our request was elevated.
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