About Us

The COVID-19 pandemic created the greatest economic crisis in our nation’s history. Here in New York, a statewide lockdown shuttered thousands of businesses and left millions of New Yorkers out of work and uncertain about what the future would hold – and we know many New Yorkers felt those effect first-hand. At the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL), we faced the inconceivable challenge of helping nearly 5 million New Yorkers get the unemployment insurance and new federal benefits they so desperately needed. It was the most difficult time in the history of NYSDOL, but it would also inspire a response that completely reshaped who we are as an agency. Our report “NYSDOL and the COVID 19 Pandemic: Leading and Learning Through Crisis" provides a detailed recounting of NYSDOL’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, placed in the context of where we were as an agency up to and during the height of the outbreak, and how we have grown since. We created this report in the spirit of transparency, offering an honest recounting of the circumstances that left us overwhelmed in the beginning of the pandemic, and the steps we took to get us through the long road ahead. We see this report as not only evidence of NYSDOL’s successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also of our commitment to improving the department so that we can best serve the people of New York State for generations to come.