Federal and state lawmakers took a major step towards easing the restrictions for applicants to the fund for excluded workers, a $2.1 billion aid program set up last spring in the New York State budget to provide relief for people who do not qualify for other programs like unemployment or pandemic relief because of their immigration status.
Until now, applicants to the program needed to show a series of documents that established their residency in New York State and proved their eligibility to work. Among the documents that could help an applicant secure the maximum amount of aid was an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or an ITIN. But due to a backlog at the Internal Revenue Service, applicants have been prevented from applying for excluded worker aid as they await the federal agency to process their ITIN requests.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Tuesday that he successfully lobbied the IRS to come up with a solution that will help people secure this aid sooner. Now applicants will be able to apply for funds as long as they show proof that they have applied for the ITIN.
“They are setting up an alternative system so we go from a big backlog, to big help, in one day,” said Schumer, who was speaking from Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens along with State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa, the sponsors of the excluded workers fund who also first flagged this obstacle earlier this year.
The trio wrote a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig in April urging the federal agency to expedite the ITIN application process, and Schumer followed up by calling the agency directly to secure the change.
“The IRS will require eligible New Yorkers who access this fund to just have a stamped W-7. That sounds complicated. That’s wonk talk for a pending application,” he said. Schumer also noted that the IRS had set up seven new Taxpayer Assistance Center, for a total of 14 citywide, where people can appear to receive proof of their ITIN application.
Eligible applicants can receive up to $15,600 in direct aid to help cover lost wages due to the pandemic. The Fiscal Policy Institute estimates that 290,000 workers across the state could benefit from these funds, including 213,000 people here in New York City.
To qualify for the aid, people must show that they were a resident of New York prior to March 2020 (and continue to be) and did not qualify for unemployment or other aid; made less than $26,208 in the year before April 2021; and lost at least half of their weekly earnings between February 23rd, 2020 and April 1st, 2021 due to the pandemic.
While this change in federal policy is expected to start easing the burdens on applicants, State Senator Jessica Ramos said the state and city could still do more to make it easier for people to secure funds, calling initial state regulations, “gravely unfair” since people who lost less than 50 percent of their income do not currently qualify. That stands in stark contrast with unemployment insurance, she noted, which is available for any citizen who has been unemployed for any period of time.
“This was a regulation imparted by former Governor Cuomo and we’re hoping that Governor Hochul fixes this as soon as possible so that more of our neighbors can qualify for the fund,” said Ramos.
Assemblymember De La Rosa said they are also talking with the Hochul administration about how to ensure people who are paid in cash do not remain left out of the program, which they currently are.
“We’re asking DOL to consider cash earners who have to self attest to their income,” said De La Rosa, “we are asking for greater consideration for that reality within our community.”
Governor Hochul cited the excluded workers fund in her first public address after being sworn in one week ago. A spokesperson for her office has not yet responded to a request for comment about what potential changes her administration is currently considering.
The state lawmakers also urged Mayor Bill de Blasio to increase the number of appointments available for people to apply or renew their municipal identification card, known as ID NYC. This is another document that can be used as part of an application to the excluded workers fund.
De Blasio said Wednesday that the city would do whatever it could to help expedite the process for excluded workers; he made no specific commitment to expand ID NYC appointments.
Still this change in the application process came as welcome news to immigrant advocates and workers who joined lawmakers for the announcement.
“This procedural change will make a tremendous difference,” said Annetta Seecharran, executive director of Chhaya Community Development Corporation and a long-serving board member of the New York Immigration Coalition. She said so many workers they serve have been locked out because they’ve been, “caught in bureaucratic jams, unable to get these funds that are so critical to their daily lives.”
One of those people is Francisco Palacios, a construction worker who lost his job five months ago because of the pandemic. Speaking through an interpreter with his eyes welling with tears, Palacios told Gothamist/WNYC that this money will bring him meaningful relief, helping him get to needed medical appointments, buy food and pay back bills he’s fallen behind on, like rent.
Visit the Department of Labor to find out what you need to know about how to apply for the Excluded Workers Fund
• Applications must be completed online.
• Answers to frequently asked questions are available in 13 different languages.
• The state is partnering with community-based organizations to assist people with applying for the excluded workers fund.
• Here is an interactive map where you can search for an organization near you.
• There are 39 organizations in New York City that can assist with applications.
