Ms. M story:
VOLS is representing Ms. M, an immigrant from Guinea, who believed that her work permit renewal was received before her previous permit expired and that she was to receive the automatic extension for which she was therefore eligible. Unbeknownst to her, however, her first submitted renewal application had been rejected, a common occurrence under the last administration. Though her immigration attorney did her best to re-submit the application, the receipt date was after her work permit expired. Unaware of this complexity and fully believing she was eligible, Ms. M applied and recertified eligibility for unemployment benefits. She has an upcoming hearing and VOLS UWP is representing her at that hearing.
Should Ms. M and other such claimants lose their hearings on this issue, we will strongly consider representing them in their appeals before the Department of Labor Appeal Board and, if rejected, the Third Department of the Appeal Board.
Ms. K story:
Ms. K worked more than one job to make ends meet, including pre-pandemic work histories with four different employers. When she applied for benefits, only two of her employers were used to calculate her weekly benefit rate, which was low at $226 per week and not enough to make ends meet while she was unemployed. One of her other employers had labeled her as an independent contractor, resulting in the exclusion of wages at this job from her benefits calculation. After investigating her claim, the VOLS attorney discovered she was likely miscategorized and should be deemed an employee, such that her wages could be included in her weekly benefit rate. We appeared on her behalf before the New York State Department of Labor. The Administrative Law Judge found that she should be deemed an employee for that position and that her weekly benefit rate should be increased to reflect these wages, including retroactive benefits, together increasing her benefits by $1,975.
Mr. and Mrs. M Story:
Throughout the covid-19 pandemic, Mr. M, Ms. M, undocumented immigrants from Mexico, and their young child, were entirely shut out of federal and state unemployment benefits. When other New Yorkers were receiving over $900 each week in benefits, this family skipped meals and relied on the compassion of their neighbors to meet their basic needs. Finally, in August 2021, New York State’s Excluded Workers Fund went live. This family looked at the EWF application online, but decided to speak with a community-based organization that they were familiar with, Nido de Esperanza. A case manager there was able to provide them with some information, and then referred the case to VOLS for application assistance.
On September 14, Mr. and Ms. M attended our EWF clinic with Bloomberg and Cadwalader. Each of them met with their legal team and interpreters, and, together, they submitted their applications for the Excluded Workers Fund.
A few weeks later, both Mr. and Ms. M received word that their applications were approved. They were overjoyed and incredulous, not believing they were about to get over $31,000 sent to them in the mail. A few weeks later, they received their cards. They’ve expressed how happy they are, and what a huge relief it has been to have some money to make up for lost earnings during the pandemic.