After Website Crashes, New System for Online Unemployment Filing

The coronavirus is effecting unemployment filing, after a landslide of incoming phone calls caused a New York State computer system to crash. The Department of Labor's solution was to implement a special system to handle thousands of calls about unemployment insurance.

The state has decided to waive the seven-day waiting period for unemployment insurance and has instituted an alphabetical system spread out over the whole week, based on the first letter of a filer’s last name. Here's the schedule:

• A–F: Monday
• G–N: Tuesday
• O–Z: Wednesday

If you miss your scehuled day, you'll still be able to file on Thursday or Friday.

New York's Department of Labor experienced a one-week increase of 950% in phone calls inquiring about unemployment insurance, leading to the institution of the new plan. Along with the new alpha system, the state also announced expanded hours for its telephone lines.