BUFFALO, N.Y. — We are still hearing from people who have been waiting since March or April for their unemployment benefits.
Jeffrey Leroy from Lackawanna works in construction. He was laid off in late March, and after lots of work trying to get his benefits, he's finally getting his money. Leroy was out of work for two-and-a-half months, he's back now, but in order to get his unemployment benefits of $7,700, he had to spend a lot of time calling his representatives and navigating the New York State Department of Labor website.
The NYS DOL tweeted that it typically takes two to three business days for released funds to appear in your bank account with direct deposit, so Leroy should get his thousands soon. But, he says a lot of his co-workers still don't have their benefits.
"Thankfully, I had some money put away, and I was able to weather the storm, and I know a lot of guys with children and stuff like that, that they had to borrow a lot of money to get through this time, and again, these guys didn't want to be off. They were ready to work through the virus," says Leroy.
If you have questions about your unemployment claim, the NYS DOL website has a FAQ section. The easiest way to file a claim is online, but you can also do it over the phone.