NJ's 40-year-old system increases delays for
unemployment checks amid coronavirus crisis
NorthJersey.com [Woodland Park, NJ],
by
Ashley Balcerzak
&
Scott Fallon
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
4/5/2020 9:22:30 PM
New Jersey officials vowed Saturday to speed up the processing of unemployment claims despite relying on a 40-year-old computer system that has been overwhelmed by the record number of requests due to the coronavirus crisis. Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said a plan to increase phone lines, train additional staff to handle claims and provide laptops to workers at home will help ease the crushing amount of claims being sought amid the economic meltdown brought upon by the virus. "There is nothing I want more than to put your hard-earned benefits into your family budget sooner," he said at Gov. Phil
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Dukester 4/5/2020 10:06:37 PM (No. 369956)
Typical blue state story. They've spent so much on salaries, programs, and pensions that they have no money for routine office upgrades. Welcome to New Jersey . . . and don't forget to turn your clocks back.
5 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
padiva 4/5/2020 10:14:39 PM (No. 369962)
My COBOL programming is a little bit rusty. Hey, I'm game to relearn it.
(41 years ago, I work for the State of NJ as a COBOL programmer. Back then, employers train employees on the different software languages. After 6 months, I left for maternity leave and never went back.)
4 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Avikingman 4/5/2020 10:19:03 PM (No. 369963)
It's a 'RAT run state, that's why.
2 people like this.
Good luck with COBOL programmers! It’s not just the code but also the system’s architecture and interfaces to distributed systems knowledge that is required! 30 years ago we use to laugh at people who said that mainframes would be replaced! Nobody believed us...we were right, but shortsighted thinking prevented modernization of the Mainframe...or “Big Iron” as we called it! “Blew Chunks” is also a tech term! 😉
5 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
ZeldaFitzg 4/5/2020 11:40:35 PM (No. 369997)
That upgrade money probably bought somebody a new rosewood desk, matching credenza, and Oriental rug.
7 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
DVC 4/6/2020 1:00:03 AM (No. 370026)
Everything is better in NY and NJ.
🙄
They keep electing incompetent fools to govern, and they get incompetent, foolish government. What a surprise!
/s off
1 person likes this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
janjan 4/6/2020 1:05:58 AM (No. 370032)
Exactly why Trump wanted the Feds to do this distribution instead of the States. Their antiquated systems can’r process this volume of transactions. Like most corporations, the government will not invest in IT infrastructure until days after the disaster when it’s too late. Ask anyone in Michigan who has spent days trying to reach The unemployment by phone after their web site crashed on day one.
2 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Mike22 4/6/2020 2:25:19 AM (No. 370063)
Massive taxes and an antique infrastructure. What a deal.
0 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Rinktum 4/6/2020 4:31:00 AM (No. 370077)
Vote for a democrat and this is what you will get. Their inability to think critically and made sound decisions is cast aside in order to do whatever feel good trendy progressive cause comes down the pike. It is not only foolish to vote for democrats, it is also dangerous to your financial well being more than ever. Democrats are incapable of rational, logical, critical thinking. They live in a fantasy world of their own making and when tough times comes, they are unprepared. The tale of the grasshopper and the ant is being played out in real time on the political stage. Had enough America?
1 person likes this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 4/6/2020 11:03:57 AM (No. 370383)
I’m 66 and could go back consulting managing upgrades to Mainframe Systems. BUT, I will encounter 1) PMO’s Project Management Offices who’s sole purpose is to add process and forms! (Einstein said “Everything should be as simple as possible...but not too simple”) 2) Snowflakes in the work place! I’m not PC! Never have been and never will be! 3) I wouldn’t work for a state agency at any level! Nothing can get done by people who literally sit at different desks everyday so they can’t be found! I’ve tried! Impossible! Also unions are in the mix! So...good luck boys and girls! 20 years from now you will be running the same software, guaranteed!
0 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
DVC 4/6/2020 12:28:07 PM (No. 370504)
#7, unemployment is a state law, the Feds have pretty much nothing to do with it normally, so the checks have to go via the state.
And a great opportunity to let folks see how hideously incompetent their Dem state governments really are. People WILL notice that they get their checks very late, and since other states will get them quickly, perhaps some governors will be unemployed?
0 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
DVC 4/6/2020 12:33:04 PM (No. 370512)
#4, heck even finding COBOL programmers under the age of about 68 is nearly impossible. Nobody wants to learn an ancient dead computer language any more, so all you have are the few remaining dinosaurs who haven't retired yet. I was FORTRAN programmer, but knew a lot of COBOLer back in the day. And my FORTRAN was for engineering projects, not for corporate pay and such that COBOL was used for, or state unemployment. I wonder how they keep that old big iron running....ancient stuff.
0 people like this.
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They desperately need COBOL programmers!