NYS Department of Labor claim approved after job eliminated by automation - anyone else dealing with AI-related layoffs?
Just got my first unemployment payment after my company replaced half our department with some kind of AI system. I worked in data entry for 6 years and they basically said the software can do what took us hours in minutes. Filed my claim 3 weeks ago and finally got approved yesterday. The whole process felt weird explaining to NYS Department of Labor that I lost my job to a computer program. Has anyone else had to file unemployment because of automation or AI taking over their position? I'm worried this is going to keep happening in other jobs I apply for.
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Freya Pedersen
Unfortunately this is becoming more common. When you file your weekly claims, make sure you're documenting your job search activities thoroughly. NYS Department of Labor requires 3 job contacts per week, but given the circumstances you might want to consider retraining programs. There are WIOA funds available for workers displaced by technology - you can ask about this at your local career center.
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GalacticGuru
•Thanks, I didn't know about WIOA. Do I need to mention the automation thing when I do my weekly claim certification? I've just been putting 'lack of work' as the reason.
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Omar Fawaz
same thing happened to my cousin in customer service, chatbots replaced her whole team. took forever to get through to NYS Department of Labor to even file because everyone's calling about this stuff now
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Chloe Anderson
I had success reaching NYS Department of Labor agents through a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) when I couldn't get through the regular phone lines. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of busy signals when I needed to discuss my claim status after a similar situation.
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Diego Vargas
•How does that work exactly? I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for days about my adjudication and keep getting disconnected.
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Anastasia Fedorov
This is exactly why the unemployment system is overwhelmed. Companies are just dumping workers and expecting taxpayers to foot the bill while they pocket the savings from not paying salaries. The whole thing is backwards.
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StarStrider
•I mean, technology has always changed jobs. People adapted before, they'll adapt now. At least unemployment benefits give you time to retrain.
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Sean Doyle
You might want to look into trade programs. A lot of blue collar work can't be automated yet. My brother went from office work to plumbing after getting laid off and he's making more money now than before.
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