NYS Department of Labor

I understand that the Department of Labor is very busy, and they probably do receive so many complaints every day. But they are also very rude. I was filing claims for 2 weeks and about to file my 3^rd week and I didn’t know why I never received benefits. They would never update me on anything. I was only able to call them and they never pick up. When they finally picked up my call, they were just plain rude. They told me information I was missing which I had given to them previously 2 times. And they finally said my information would be reviewed, but why was it never reviewed in the first/​second place? Its really horrible because I never know whats going on with the Department of Labor and the only way to know is to keep calling them all the time, but they don’t pick up most of the time unless you get lucky. You can’t even ask for call backs most of the time. You just have to keep calling when they’re not available. I was never rude to them. I simply asked how I would know if I was missing information, or how I would know if my information was being reviewed, because I had given the information to them previously and it was never handled properly. The lady was very rude and said, «Do you want me to help you or not?» various times. And I was never being rude to her, she was being rude to me continuously. I couldn’t really even get a response from my questions because she kept saying, «Do you want me to help you, or not?» She probably was really annoyed because she takes abuse a lot from other callers, but I tried to make it easy for her… She wasn’t making anything easy for me though.

Not a fun spot. I wouldn’t recommend it to a friend.
I found this building to be very old and worn inside. Ancient printouts taped to walls with peeling tape. A big sign announcing that the Dept of Labor was ~BORN OF FIRE~…
Not only do they not serve any light snacks or beverages, but you are not allowed to eat or drink aaannnnnyyything while inside. Not even an apple? NO. There’s a security guard to yell at you for crossing The Red Line when in queue.
The movie they show isn’t that great either. It’s about a dude named Steve and involves math. I’m probably not likely to become a regular here.

I went to a public hearing to express my outrage at the proposed changes to the Child Performer regulations. In order to get to the hearing, I had to show ID at the building lobby and wait for security to escort me up the elevator. Once on the appropriate floor, I had to wait with the security guard on that floor for an escort to a conference room. When I entered the conference room, it turns out to be a flowover room with a large TV screen broadcasting the public hearing. As I sit watching, I realized that my turn was approaching (#13) and they were planning to convene the meeting without hearing from #12 (also in the same room as me) and me! I hurried up to find someone who could escort us to the other room. After making a fuss and insisting that we had to get to the other room, we were escorted there in time to say our pieces.
Ridiculous! First, they make changes which are so out of line with reality and then, they do so much to prevent people from having a say in the process. I guess that may be typical.
Very unhappy with the NYS Dept of Labor for all that they don’t do right.