New York unemployment checks will pause while the state replaces its system

New York’s unemployment system will be taken offline next week as the state replaces it, leaving people who rely on benefits without payments during the upgrade. The system is set to go offline at 5 p.m. Monday, and all unemployment services will be unavailable for nine to 12 days. The New York State Department of Labor has been warning those who are currently getting unemployment benefits about the outage with text messages, emails, and a big banner across the top of the website. Holly Reader, who recently lost her job, says it took weeks to get her unemployment benefits and now she will have to go without a check for at least a week during the upgrade. “I’m already trying to play catch-up and here I’ve paid into this program, and I really need it being a single mom of two kids, going without payment is very difficult,” she tells News10NBC. The state says it will make people whole when the system is back up and running. “It’s a state that prides itself at protecting working