BUFFALO, N.Y. — Since March, 2 On Your Side has been working on a lot of stories about unemployment benefits. Wednesday, 2 On Your Side's Kelly Dudzik got an answer to a viewer question about who qualifies for them.
This week, John C. emailed Dudzik with a question his mom had.
John asked, "My mother is 81 and still works in an elementary school cafeteria. We have been pleading for her not to work anymore with COVID still in the picture. Normally, I like that she stays active but this was a different situation. All her doctors painted the same picture. No work.... but she wanted me to ask you if there is any hope to collect unemployment benefits if advised not to work because of community health risks. I told her no, but she wanted me to ask anyways."
There are probably a lot of families dealing with the same situation. So, Dudzik took John's question to the New York State Department of Labor.
Here's what she found out.
A New York State Department of Labor spokesperson said, "She (John's mom) may be eligible for pandemic unemployment assistance, which allows people to collect benefits for certain COVID-related issues. Tell her to file a claim online at labor.ny.gov."
If you have an unemployment question, you can contact 2 On Your Side's Kelly Dudzik.
