New Jersey residents waiting for months for unemployment ben

[Opti]

Nearly two years into the pandemic and New Jersey's unemployment remains higher than the rest of the country with some residents angry because they have been waiting months for benefits.

Tom Wighard says he hasn't received unemployment benefits since February.

"Nothing ever happens. There's no money. Why?" says Wighard. "I want my money."

The New Jersey Department of Labor told Wighard his claim would automatically be extended for six months, but instead, for 26 weeks he has been told that his claim is not payable at this time.

Wighard says he would get a call from the department every Monday but as the months dragged on, he started recording the conversations.

"I would talk to somebody, and they said, 'well it's not payable, it's in review,'" says Wighard.

Joe Coley has spent six months waiting for benefits. The delay has taken its toll on him and his family.

"We downsized, we moved out of an apartment," says Coley. "And we're in a mobile home now. So, the rent is much cheaper than it was before. So, it's difficult."

He responded saying, "There's only so much we can do as a state, given the state of the federal system. That needs to get renovated, brought to a whole different place. Otherwise, if we throw more than what we're throwing at it, it's good money after bad."

As for Wighard, he got some good news after Team 12 asked about his case. The Department of Labor emailed him saying that he'll have $17,000 of benefits in his account within two days.

newjersey.news12.com/team-12-investigates-new-jersey-residents-waiting-for-months-for-unemployment-benefits

[Opti]

I think I am going to have to go the law maker route. Gov Murphy is not on NJ12 regularly for questions.  I apparently missed him on 12/16.

[plugginaway22]

Are you unemployed and waiting for benefits?

[Opti]

Dec 29, 2021 18:16:17 GMT -5 plugginaway22 said:

Are you unemployed and waiting for benefits?

Yes. I jumped through the ID.me hoop, but through the special process, so I am wondering how long that handoff should realistically take.

[Opti]

Feel free to post your state's current status on unemployment or other related programs.

Here's something else I found looking at other NJ stuff.

nj1015.com/nj-utility-grace-period-is-ending-will-your-service-be-cut-off/

As of October 2021, more than 4000,000 residential customers were five to six months behind on gas and/or electric payments, representing an arrearage total of more than $396 million, according to the BPU. Water and sewer utilities recorded 168,390 overdue accounts in October 2021, owing more than $46 million.



"Customers will receive communications regarding disconnect status as soon as early January and may enroll in a no-money-down, 12 month Deferred Payment Arrangement and, if eligible, may enroll in the Winter Termination Program to avoid shut-off through March 15, 2022," said JCP&L spokesman Chris Hoenig.



The Winter Termination Program, which has been around since long before the coronavirus pandemic took hold of New Jersey, blocks certain customers from having their gas or electric turned off between Nov. 15 and Mar. 15 of each year. Those enrolled in certain utility assistance programs are protected by the program. The program also features a "catch-all" category for customers who can't pay their bills because of circumstances beyond their control, such as illness or unemployment.







Read More: NJ utility grace period is ending — will your service be cut off? | nj1015.com/nj-utility-grace-period-is-ending-will-your-service-be-cut-off/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

[Opti]

A bill signed into law on Tuesday by Gov. Phil Murphy extends the grace period for all water, municipal electric, and sewer customers to Mar. 15, 2022.



NOTE: Gas and private electric utilities can still start the shutoff process on Jan. 1. Check here for your options, and to see what utilities plan to do in the new year.



Read More: Gov. Murphy extends (some) utility grace periods for NJ residents | nj1015.com/gov-murphy-extends-some-utility-grace-periods-for-nj-residents/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

[jerseygirl]

Sorry opt4 that you’re among the many in NJ having problems with unemployment
I was eligible in 2020 cause my consulting work went to 0. But I had some income in 2019 for minimum wage to help my disabled sister for 20 hrs/week, it’s a program NJ has to keep folks at home instead of a care facility.
I applied for unemployment and got a few weeks based on the home aide work. I wasn’t able to get it based on my consulting work even though independent contractors were supposed to be eligible. The website just said pending. I gave up but was lucky to get 2 months consulting in 2021. That ended when work on the drug was stopped.
I’ve decided to finally retire (after ‘unretiring’ about 4 times!)
Very much hoping you can find a new and better job!!
Let me know how I can help you!

[Opti]

It continues. Did not get through the phone lines today to talk to Gov Murphy, but two other people managed to. One has been waiting since March, and the other one from Morristown I kind of missed her issue. Of course they both got the direct handoff from the governor to people in NJDOL. The tough thing for me is he doesn't seem to realize there is a systemic problem, and thinks its individual cases. Or perhaps the cutover hiccup.




No reply from my email to the governor's office or the junior state rep. I pinned a list into the wall of NJDOL possible contacts. The form you could fill out was pretty worthless. I gave up lots of personal identification info and was not even give a text box to state my issue!!!!
WT heck. 

[Value Buy]

Sounds to me maybe they should go back to work. Probelm solved.

[swamp]

Jan 21, 2022 11:35:02 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Sounds to me maybe they should go back to work. Probelm solved.

Wow. I bet opti never thought of that.

Sometimes you can be a giant insensitive ass.

[Opti]

Jan 21, 2022 11:35:02 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Sounds to me maybe they should go back to work. Probelm solved.

Maybe you can hire me an Employment lawyer and sue for wrongful termination.

[Opti]

This is how the process seems to be working for now for NJ.

I was correct. My claim has been in limbo because it did not make it through the automated ID.me system.

No one, nowhere hints that this would even happen. My claim has been "escalated" and this next step may take up to 8 weeks
before being looked at.

[Opti]

In other news, my neighbor is still waiting, and is working a different job. His claim is from spring 2021. I forget. He did give me a good user pro-tip, they open tickets when you get through. You have to hope when you check on the status of your current ticket, they don't close that one and open a new one.

Wish I had known 10 weeks wait was not unusual. Or anywhere from March 2021 forward. 

[jerseygirl]

Opt4 how are you doing on job search? Have you been able to update your LinkedIn?

Good luck through this very frustrating time

[Opti]

Jan 21, 2022 15:58:47 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Opt4 how are you doing on job search? Have you been able to update your LinkedIn?

Good luck through this very frustrating time

I'm doing. I think I missed the window, September, I got interviews but nothing panned out.

I reclaimed my LinkedIn but I'm not going to spend much time on it. Its best for good paying jobs or people with a large network.
It auto signed me up to job alerts which will be noise and occasional signal.

I don't want to be signed up for alerts for reception jobs in the US. I don't even want to be signed up for reception jobs in the NY area.
It doesn't even acknowledge Actor as a profession. 

I might post from it occasionally, but its such a huge mess o crap, I don't want to go in there unless I need to. 

[Opti]

Hey Jerseygirl, guess what LinkedIn sent me as a job I'd be interested in?

SPOILER: Click to show

A receptionist job in Washington State, not even in Seattle!)

[jerseygirl]

A pox on LinkedIn!!
But more likely a ‘bot’ from a company was searching and found receptionist. Or a company HR looking but location is bizarre If you don’t want receptionist jobs DON’T put in your resume.
Use something like client relationship manager or client service. Thought you worked in IT before? Did you highlight all the programs etc you used? In the receptionist job did you do scheduling? Data entry ? Aim your resume to the jobs you want. Look at the jobs boards and what type of experience they want - put in as much of that as possible

[Opti]

Jan 22, 2022 10:00:43 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

A pox on LinkedIn!!
But more likely a ‘bot’ from a company was searching and found receptionist. Or a company HR looking but location is bizarre If you don’t want receptionist jobs DON’T put in your resume.
Use something like client relationship manager or client service. Thought you worked in IT before? Did you highlight all the programs etc you used? In the receptionist job did you do scheduling? Data entry ? Aim your resume to the jobs you want. Look at the jobs boards and what type of experience they want - put in as much of that as possible

No, it is LinkedIn. My last job title was receptionist. My best highest job was in IT ... in 2003. TY Merger, TY 911, TY patriarchy.
Jerseygirl, its a moving target. There's what I want and there's what I might be hired for. The screenings are awful. 

I took out mentioning interactions with nursing staff because the bots are looking for keywords not for context. So if I try to explain the complexity of where I worked, I can get hit with all kinds of crap. I still do as I refuse to take my last IT experience off my resume. My experience is CV worthy. 

But this is not advice I need. I taught classes on LinkedIn and listened to various presentations on roughly 2006-2009 or longer. Hard to remember, and I'm sick of working around bots and automatic programs. One of my old laptops still has a hierarchy of folders by month and year with 3 different files like job description, resume, and cover letter. My resumes are not tweaked as much as I would like, but I do not have a good setup and NJDOL offices are closed, so I can't use their resources in return for volunteer hours or retaking classes.

[Value Buy]

Jan 21, 2022 14:02:19 GMT -5 swamp said:

Jan 21, 2022 11:35:02 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Sounds to me maybe they should go back to work. Probelm solved.

Wow. I bet opti never thought of that.

Sometimes you can be a giant insensitive ass.

After the state cannot get it right after, what, two years, sorry but people have to face the truth. It is not getting better, and have to fend for theirself. Period.
Get up and get a job. During the depression people moved across the country for a job. Now everyone says what can the government do for me? Again, the government failed citizenns on all counts but the citizens expect it to get better so sit there.
What is the old adage, about doing the same thing over and over?
I am not being harsh, I am facing reality, The southern sates have the lowest unemployment stats for a reason, and truth be told, part of it is because their system fails citizens too and the residents know they have to pull theirself up by theown bootstraps.

[jerseygirl]

Opt4 probably local library has computers you can use

[Opti]

Jan 22, 2022 12:20:50 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Jan 21, 2022 14:02:19 GMT -5 swamp said:

Wow. I bet opti never thought of that.

Sometimes you can be a giant insensitive ass.

After the state cannot get it right after, what, two years, sorry but people have to face the truth. It is not getting better, and have to fend for theirself. Period.
Get up and get a job. During the depression people moved across the country for a job. Now everyone says what can the government do for me? Again, the government failed citizenns on all counts but the citizens expect it to get better so sit there.
What is the old adage, about doing the same thing over and over?
I am not being harsh, I am facing reality, The southern sates have the lowest unemployment stats for a reason, and truth be told, part of it is because their system fails citizens too and the residents know they have to pull theirself up by theown bootstraps.

You aren't facing reality. Unemployment rates are a rolling number, usually about six months. Nj is actually doing what all you GOP whiners want, working very hard on catching fraud. This has what caught me and many people from getting the money we paid in for, simply because the automated program upchucked on us.

Here's a hint - the easiest way to commit UE fraud or income tax fraud is to collect benefits that are not yours. The Southern states have the lowest employment rates in general and the most on government benefits. They don't pull themselves up, many die young or do crime.

But I'll stop with a couple other facts from other countries. Australia measures unemployment and what they call under unemployment, people who want to work more hours but can't. And you do remember that the world is much different than when the Depression happened, right? We are not primarily an Ag economy where you could help with bringing in the Hay or other tasks for money. No matter where you go, they can fire you at anytime for any reason. They can go under, the business can be sold, and things spin on a dime. 

I think you have no clue. I have followed and volunteered in the UE space for years. 

[Opti]

Jan 22, 2022 12:31:28 GMT -5 jerseygirl said:

Opt4 probably local library has computers you can use

I'm not going to repeat myself. I sometimes use the library computers, but usually only when I need to print stuff. Again, they are setup for a library. They run Linux and whatever that old freeware it is. I don't think its been updated since 2009/2010. 

NJDOL computers are setup for job search. They have current versions of MS Word. They default to NJ job portals which contain jobs that NJ employers are advertising to the DOL. I hope they re-open again, but we will see what the pandemic does to NJ DOL & WD.

[Opti]

VB, I don't know what two year timer you are using, but NJ started a pilot program on March 2021, as part of a federal test. IDK what other states are participating, but probably none of those southern states.

If you check your calendar, we are still in January 2022. We have one or two months to go b4 its a year. 

ETA - I relooked at the OP. I actually do not know about people pre March 2021 UE problems. Its a pandemic and the benefits pipeline and whatnot is strained. Heck my entire life has been strained since February 2020, so  .

I can guess, but that's probably more nuance than needed here.

[Opti]

So VB, a reality check about the Great Depression. How old were you during the stock market crash in 1929?
How old were you in 1939 when historians say it ended?

[obelisk]

Dec 29, 2021 17:38:19 GMT -5 Opti said:

Nearly two years into the pandemic and New Jersey's unemployment remains higher than the rest of the country with some residents angry because they have been waiting months for benefits.

Tom Wighard says he hasn't received unemployment benefits since February.

"Nothing ever happens. There's no money. Why?" says Wighard. "I want my money."

The New Jersey Department of Labor told Wighard his claim would automatically be extended for six months, but instead, for 26 weeks he has been told that his claim is not payable at this time.

Wighard says he would get a call from the department every Monday but as the months dragged on, he started recording the conversations.

"I would talk to somebody, and they said, 'well it's not payable, it's in review,'" says Wighard.

Joe Coley has spent six months waiting for benefits. The delay has taken its toll on him and his family.

"We downsized, we moved out of an apartment," says Coley. "And we're in a mobile home now. So, the rent is much cheaper than it was before. So, it's difficult."

He responded saying, "There's only so much we can do as a state, given the state of the federal system. That needs to get renovated, brought to a whole different place. Otherwise, if we throw more than what we're throwing at it, it's good money after bad."

As for Wighard, he got some good news after Team 12 asked about his case. The Department of Labor emailed him saying that he'll have $17,000 of benefits in his account within two days.

newjersey.news12.com/team-12-investigates-new-jersey-residents-waiting-for-months-for-unemployment-benefits

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