Our DOL July 2022

We recently received a national accolade for our innovative approach to helping New Yorkers throughout the pandemic. Google honored DOL with its Social Impact Award for the agency’s herculean effort to provide critical financial assistance through the Excluded Workers Fund (EWF). The fund provided $2.1 billion for workers who lost income during the pandemic and were ineligible for other forms of federal relief, including unemployment and pandemic benefits.

“Technology was truly an unsung hero for the department during the pandemic,” Commissioner Reardon said. “I am so proud of our EWF team, who worked around the clock to assist New Yorkers during one of the most challenging chapters in modern history. It is because of their fortitude, knowledge, and commitment to quality service that we were able to successfully overcome the hurdles and implement this historic program.”

DOL partnered with Google Cloud to implement essential program features, such as contact center AI, document AI, and a mobile-first EWF application that allowed New Yorkers to apply online 24/7 in 13 languages. In total, more than 350,000 applications were processed, including 90,000 in the first month alone, and over 128,000 were approved to receive one-time payments of up to $15,600.

The Google Cloud Customer Awards are given to the strongest nominations globally by industry for companies using technology to improve their environments, social and governance postures, and for other cross-industry achievements.

Congratulations to our EWF Team!

When Luann Trout isn’t looking to the future to modernize our unemployment system, you might find her reenacting the past as a Revolutionary War camp follower. Learn more about her passion for helping New Yorkers and for educating the public about the events leading to America gaining its independence. 

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported incidents of domestic violence have had a steep increase in frequency. Domestic violence can leave victims feeling helpless and isolated, as though they have nowhere to turn.

At the DOL, we want to make sure that all victims of domestic violence have a safe harbor in their time of need. We want to remind you that help is always available.

The New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (NYS OPDV) offers several free resources, including the Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline. To talk to an advocate, call 800-942-6906, text 844-997-2121, or connect through via live chat at opdv.ny.gov.

All calls, text messages and chats are confidential, secure, and private. If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, please know that help is just a phone call away.

At the DOL, we are extraordinarily grateful for the members of our family who answered the call and bravely served and continue to serve in the U.S. military. Though it is custom to celebrate our service members and veterans on Veterans’ Day, we want to go a step further in showing our gratitude throughout the year.

We know many of you, but to make sure we’re acknowledging everyone who served, we are requesting some information via this secure form about your time in the service, what you do here at the DOL, and any comments that you would like to share. Participation is completely voluntary, but we hope you will sign up so we can recognize your service.

Additionally, this August and November, we will honor DOL service members and veterans in a display of posters and video screens in some of our buildings, as well as on social media. If interested in participating, please email [email protected] as soon as possible. Our Communications Team will reach out to you to schedule a quick photoshoot for early next week.

Our mission at DOL is to provide a customer service experience that leaves all New Yorkers confident that they have what they need to be successful. Whether you are meeting with a customer in a career center or assisting another staff member over the phone, excellence in customer service will help you to quickly connect with customers, discover and understand their goals, and illustrate your willingness to work hard to achieve those goals. This focus on the service experience benefits us as an agency and helps to make New York State an example and leader in the world of labor.

The EDGE training unit has rolled out their Customer Service Training Initiative with both virtual and in-person trainings. This initiative will run through September and will be comprised of two courses. In Creating a Quality Customer Experience, we lay the groundwork for providing consistently excellent customer service to both internal and external customers. In Listening with Intent, you will learn the importance of developing a rapport with customers, understanding their needs, and actively listening to increase efficacy and productivity.

This mandatory training will not only freshen up your skills but ensure we are delivering the best possible service to all. Save your spot and register for a class today!

EDGE Announces: Customer Service Training - July through September 2022 (In-Person/Zoom)

EDGE will also have a Customer Service catalog housed in SLMS with a variety of trainings available for self-paced learning. Topics to include:

• De-Escalation Techniques
• Delivering Exceptional Phone Service
• Emotional Intelligence
• Appreciating Diversity and Understanding Cultural Differences

Look for that announcement on the intranet soon.

The Unemployment Insurance System Improvement Modernization (UISIM) Project team kicked off the summer on June 21 with a celebratory picnic at Building 12. The event brought team members together from NYSDOL, ITS, UIAB, and vendor staff from TCS, PCG, and Guidehouse to meet in-person and mingle.

The project team has overseen several key milestones recently. As of this month, all system designs have been finalized and the team is more than halfway through development. Early next year, they will begin User Acceptance Testing to ensure that the new system is thoroughly tested before the planned launch in Fall 2023.

To stay up to date on this project, visit the UISIM Hub or UIAB Hub.

This month is recognized as “Plastic-Free July,” an annual event that began in Western Australia in 2011 and has since spread around the globe. It aims to raise awareness of the amount of plastic in our lives by encouraging people to reduce their reliance on single-use plastic disposables, reduce plastic pollution, and push for lasting solutions this month and beyond.

What We’re Doing

DOL has been approved to install 37 bottle-filling stations at Building 12. Additionally, all newly leased facilities will receive bottle-filling water fountains as part of the build out. To date, these bottle-filling stations have helped divert over 30,000 20-ounce plastic bottles from the waste stream, which equates to over 611 pounds of plastic!

How You Can Help

• Bring your own cutlery, straws and dishes to work to reduce on single-use plastic. Having an office party? Try a potluck using reusable cookware!
• Choose refillable office supplies. There are plenty of options under State contract.

Interested in learning more?

GreenNY recently hosted a lunch and learn on how to reduce plastic packaging in everyday life. Watch a recording of the event for more tips on ditching single-use plastic.

Any questions or thoughts? Email: [email protected]  

The response to our request for volunteers for the new DOL Language and Sign Language Bank has been outstanding, but we are still looking for more volunteers and more languages to make this a truly useful resource for DOL employees.

We are particularly looking for speakers of NYS’s top twelve most-spoken languages. Right now, we are still in need of volunteers with at least a moderate proficiency in: Urdu, Bengali, Haitian Creole, Italian, Polish and Yiddish. However, we are urging anyone with non-English language skills to fill out the volunteer survey.

Important: Employees who were volunteers in the previous Language Bank must resubmit their information if they wish to continue volunteering. The information housed in the former system is no longer reliable, so we need you to let us know that you still want to be a part of the Language Bank.

Your help is still very much needed – fill out the volunteer form and continuing being an important part of this vital DOL resource!