City Limits-Go Newsletters Support

Although the exclusion of workers’ funds aims to distribute aid on a first-come, first-served basis, it does not necessarily mean that those who apply first receive funding first, so some people are still in a state of uncertainty.

Courtesy of Make the Road New York

This article originally appeared in Spanish. Lea la versión en español aquí.

New York’s Xenophobic Workers Fund has been officially closed, and some applicants are still in a state of uncertainty: because they applied in the last few days without guaranteeing that the applicant will receive the funds, or because they applied in advance but appealed in the middle, or their The file has been reviewed again. Silvia is a 37-year-old woman. She asked not to use her surname. She applied for it when the fund opened in the first few weeks of August, but her application was quickly rejected. She appealed the decision, and by August 27, her appeal was also rejected. "Your appeal was rejected for the following reasons," she wrote in the text message she received at the time. "We are unable to process your application." When she managed to contact the New York State Department of Labor (DOL), the government agency responsible for the program, to ask what happened, the operator told her that they could not see the reason for the rejection. She said. "I was in the hospital and I lost my job," Silvia recalled on the phone, describing her battle with COVID-19 in March 2020. "I stayed in the hospital in Flushing for a week. I am a single mother, why am I not eligible?"

The Excluded Workers Fund specifically provides financial assistance to New Yorkers (such as Silvia) who have suffered income losses during the COVID-19 pandemic and who have also been excluded from federal aid programs. So she reapplied. On September 11, DOL rejected her second application. This time the text message stated that it had not provided additional information in time. The pain of being excluded made her feel puzzled. She went to her accountant. She had done taxation before, and they filed a third application. "I was sitting in her office, and when she completed the application, she told me it was $200," Silvia said. She knows that many organizations will not charge for the application process-DOL's website lists more than 60 community groups across the state that are responsible for helping New Yorkers apply for free-however, Silvia did not want to receive a third rejection, so she paid . She is not alone: ​​According to reports, when the fund opened on the first day of August, there were advertisements on social media from the tax preparers responsible for filling out the applications. Silvia said that when she walked along Roosevelt Avenue and 104 Avenue in Queens, she even saw signs that applied for $150 each, which is home to many immigrant workers. "I don't know," Silvia said, trying to find out more reasons why she paid. "She gave me hope, maybe this time I will get it." A few days later, on September 24, the Department of Labor warned on its website that the fund is about to run out, so there is no guarantee that future applicants can Get funding. It closed on the evening of October 8 and stopped accepting applications; Governor Kathy Hochul said that by the end of October, the state is expected to allocate more than $2 billion. “Applicants who have submitted a complete application can still access their account to check status or respond to information requests,” DOL explained. Still not knowing whether her application will be approved for the third time or rejected, Silvia decides to contact the city restrictions. Waiting doubts Rosa, a 41-year-old woman, asked not to use her surname. She also contacted City Limits because she thought her case was handled unfairly: she applied on August 11. She was rejected, she filed an appeal, and has not received any response since. "I know things will take time," Rosa said on the phone, "but I helped the applicant, my comrade, and got the approval before me." Rosa said she searched about the exclusion of workers’ fund applicants. I arrived at the question article, but did not find the long wait. "People are disillusioned and wonder, why are they doing this?" Rosa said. Claudia is a 44-year-old woman. She also asked not to use her surname, but due to the tight time frame of her case, she began to believe that all this was a scam and wanted to warn people about social media by commenting on city restriction posts. "That (the excluded workers' fund) is a lie," she wrote. "I meet all the requirements. On August 2, I submitted my application and it is still being processed." When asked if the applicant might not receive a response in two months, the Department of Labor did not directly answer. But said that it will continue to process applications on a first-come, first-served basis until the funds are used up. As of Wednesday, out of 350,823 applications, 130,684 applications have been approved for assistance from the fund, close to US$2 billion. The total number of petitions includes duplicates. Bianca Guerrero, the coordinator of the Fund Exclusion Workers Movement at Make the Road in New York, explained that the organization organized a few months last spring to get the state to approve the fund, including some people. Several weeks of hunger strike protests. Its members. City Limits asked DOL to estimate the number of repeated applications so far, but the agency did not provide a figure, but pointed out that the vast majority of rejections were repeated applications or they determined to be invalid. City Limits also asked for the number of petitions rejected so far, the number of appeals received, and the number of appeals that led to victory, but no response was received. According to Guerrero, “So far, the number of denials is not the main source of concern.” The Columbia County Asylum Movement is the state’s capital and district coordinator for the excluded workers’ fund. In the appeal, only one succeeded.

Courtesy Make the Road NY

More rarely, after the application was rejected, the Department of Labor decided to review it again. This is the case with Laura. She is a 31-year-old woman and she requested that her last name be excluded. "Only my husband applied. I didn't know it could be submitted separately," Laura said by phone. They applied on September 9th and October 5th but were rejected. They appealed the decision, which was rejected on October 8. "We logged in without any reason. It didn't explain. It just showed no," she said. On the afternoon of October 14th, a DOL representative called to tell them that they would re-evaluate their application. The first-come, first-served principle of the fund does not necessarily mean that the person who applies first is the first to receive funding. This detail is now crucial in the final stage of the plan, because early-bird applicants may see later Applicants first receive assistance. For example, another applicant, Patricia, said that she helped her friend complete the application. They received assistance a few weeks later, even though she completed her application on August 2. When asked about these timing issues, the Ministry of Labor did not provide many details, but stated that they will continue to process applications in the order received until the funds are used up. On October 12, Claudia received a text message stating that her application had been approved. On October 21, Rosa's application was approved. As of November 5th, neither Laura nor Silvia had received any notice about them. 

Hi, my name is Marisol gomez and I am reading your post about the excluded worker fund. My case is similar to the one in your post. I submitted an application and a few weeks after my application was rejected, I was appealed on the same day I received the email. After I was still waiting for the application for three weeks, I called them and left a message. The automatic service asked them to call me back. I received it shortly after I hung up. An email said that my appeal was also rejected. Because I didn’t send the certificate on time, when they called me the next day, I explained to the person that I had never received a request for additional information, she didn’t know what to say, she just said that Powerless. , I believe that it is unfair for many of us to work in these countries and pay taxes and suffer many losses due to covi without getting help. If you can help me with my case, please or recommend any association that can help me 🙏🏼

I was also rejected, and my appeal was rejected for no reason. I contacted NYSDOL and was told that the people reviewing my case thought my W2 was fraudulent because they had never seen W2 in this format. Really? Even though I also sent my pay slip, they could have contacted my employer. I asked a supervisor and he told me that they would reopen my claim and conduct a third review. It may take up to 2 weeks. Continue to request a call back and request the manager. do not give up! good luck!

I want to talk about the excluded workers. This help is unevenly distributed. I know that in some cases, people who made a lot of money and didn’t suffer quickly gave it to them. Those who had expired documents should have given them 14,000 unqualified, while those who were unemployed and losing money still gave them. Nothing has been received, or they will no longer receive anything. Sadly, because it can be seen that they are lucky to work like a lottery, not because the person is qualified or not.

All in all, we need to focus on handling improperly! It's ridiculous. They approved 11 applications starting on January 10, 21, and each approved person received a level 1, which is $15,000. This is the link to the data. https://dol.ny.gov/excluded-workers-fund-data

La verdad que este dinero lo manejaron mal porque conosco mucha jente que agarro el dinero y ellos reportan poquito en tax para no pagar impuestos y lo de mas lo agarraron en cash

According to the data released by the New York Department of Labor (link: https://dol.ny.gov/excluded-workers-fund-data), only 11 applications have been approved since January 1, 2021. That's 11! All millions of approved applications have been approved before then, and the deadline is October 8, 2021. All approved applications are for level 1 (over 99%), which is $15,000, and now everyone else has nothing left, and no one is working on anything. What's wrong.

It is still available

I did not receive any money from the excluded workers’ fund. I didn't work for a long time, I was unemployed by mistake and gave me a week's money, and then there was no money. I have w2 tax file, ID card, driving learner admission certificate, all the documents I have, but why I didn't receive the money, I don't understand what the husband or the lady meant.

Sir and madam, I don’t understand why I have not received any money that excludes the workers’ fund. I received unemployment benefits by mistake a week later, and then no more money, but I have all the documents.

I applied on the first day of August when the fund was just opened, but I was still waiting for me to update my documents at the end of September, and then in October I called the fund information hotline and they said that I was approved two weeks ago , But still waiting for this card, can someone help me

How can I contact them? I started applying on September 29, but I don’t know anything about my application. I only see submissions every time I log in.

I started to apply on September 30 and I still haven’t heard any response. I still say that the promised application is now 9 weeks.

Your email address will not be published. Required places have been marked *

Click here to subscribe to CityVote 2021, our special campaign newsletter.

Don’t miss exploratory reports, thought-provoking columns or news podcasts

City Limits housing and development announcement. News and tools for New Yorkers responding to the housing crisis

Focus on the city’s community report

Notify detallados en español

Your guide to voting in New York 2021

Thank you for registering. Please check your email for confirmation.

City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and get the community to take action.

City Limits was established in 1976 during the financial crisis in New York to provide information for democracy and help citizens build a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization funded by foundation support, advertising sponsorship and reader donations.