I was forced to go there because the online claim-filing system is not Mac compatible. I thought I had all the documents I needed, but when I went to file my first claim, their computer informed me that I needed the last two years of my wage history and a few other bits of information I had left at home.
Okay, I can handle that — probably my mistake for not reading the fine print before I left (being able to get into the system from my computer would have helped). But upon my return, with two years of wage history accompanying me, I soon found out that I needed my entire wage history for my freelance work and most recent job at a corporate newspaper. That meant data going back to 2004 and 2005, respectively.
Instead of going home to get it, I was told by a human to estimate my gross earnings. So I did that. And I haven't cross-checked my estimate yet, but I'm pretty sure I was in the ballpark. If not, and I happened to guess low, they'll probably put my claim through intense scrutiny, accuse me of fraud and I won't see my first check until 2017, if ever.
As nice as the Labor folks are, and as spoon-fed as most of the information is, the process is still a horribly convoluted and misinforming one. It took 45 minutes to file my claim — way longer than it should have — and that's with pre-registering all my contact and employment info a few weeks ago to avoid shitshows like today.
So yeah, that good mood? Vanished. I'm just about done brooding, but if this is what I'm going to have to go through each week for $364 (pretax, mind you), it's going to be a long half-year.
I might as well beg for change. I hear that's a good gig.
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