New York's unemployment system goes offline Nov. 2 for up to 12 days: file or certify by 5 p.m. Monday

New Yorkers who collect unemployment benefits have a deadline on Monday. The state Department of Labor will shut down its unemployment insurance system at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, to switch to a new platform called Unemployment Services, and expects the changeover to take 9 to 12 days, according to a department release.

During that window, all online and phone-based unemployment services will be down. That means no new claims, no weekly certifications and no access to account information, the department says. Its page for claimants adds that the unemployment insurance call center will also be unavailable.

What to do

• Before 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2: file a new claim or certify for the week ending Sunday, Nov. 1. If you miss the deadline, the department says you can backdate your claim in the new system.
• During the shutdown: keep completing and recording at least three work search activities each week, unless you are exempt. That rule still applies while the system is down.
• After the launch: the department says it will notify all customers when the new system is live. Then file or certify to collect all payments owed to you.

Payments will be delayed, the department says, but claimants will receive every benefit payment they are entitled to once they file or certify in the upgraded system. Career Centers will offer virtual appointments from Nov. 3 to Nov. 27, but staff there cannot answer unemployment insurance questions, according to the department's claimant page.

For businesses, electronic filing of Forms NYS-1 and NYS-45 through the state Department of Taxation and Finance will not be affected, the release says.

Why the state is doing this

Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon says the current system relies on technology more than 50 years old. The new one is meant to let people file claims from their phones and track them in real time. Reardon told City & State in September that the old system still uses key punch and still requires businesses to use fax. She said claim status is the second most common reason people call the department.

The overhaul is the end of a decade-long, $180 million project, City & State reported. The state first sought proposals in 2017 and in 2019 awarded Tata Consultancy Services a $57 million contract, though costs have risen since. Reardon said the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the work, even as it showed how badly the old system was struggling. Customers "will not lose benefits," she told the outlet.

The department said it would post updates during the switchover, WNYT reported. Claimants can sign up for email and text alerts on the department's Unemployment Services page.