With New York’s backlog of claims from the COVID-19 pandemic, a state senator from the Hudson Valley has joined six of her Republican colleagues in launching a petition urging New York to fix its unemployment system.
The petition spotlights what state Senator Sue Serino calls an extreme need to fix a broken unemployment system. There has been a backlog of unemployment insurance claims, and some residents haven’t received any money for two months. The petition’s title is “No More Excuses.” Last week, Serino sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo, urging that the state dedicate additional resources to process the claims and cut through red tape. She suggested temporarily moving even more state employees to the Department of Labor to assist. Serino says hundreds of constituents who are still struggling to access their unemployment benefits have contacted her office.
