World · North America · 3 hrs ago
New York man receives $11,782 in benefits after bank-number typo
Philip Walters, a former New York City data analyst, spent months trying to get unemployment benefits after being laid off.
He believes artificial intelligence may have driven his layoff from a hospital job.
After his application was initially denied, he appealed and was eventually approved for benefits.
But a missing digit sent his payments to someone else's account, leaving him without the money.
He received $11,782 in back payments after local reporters contacted his bank and the New York Department of Labor.
A Senate bill would expand benefits to include gig workers and people displaced specifically by AI, but the sources do not say whether it will become law.
Philip Walters received $11,782 in missed unemployment benefits after a typo sent the payments to another person’s bank account.
The New York City man had entered his checking account number without its last digit.
He said he was laid off from his data analyst job at a hospital and believes the layoff was driven by artificial intelligence.
Walters was initially denied benefits twice, appealed, and was eventually approved, but did not receive the payments.
He got the back pay after reporters contacted his bank and the New York Department of Labor.
- Who
- Philip Walters, a New York City man who previously worked as a hospital data analyst.
- What
- He received $11,782 in missed unemployment benefits after a typo sent the payments to another person’s bank account.
- When
- The payments were deposited after almost a year without receiving them. The article says his run of bad luck began last November.
- Where
- New York City; the benefits were sent to another person’s bank account.
- Why
- Walters entered his checking account number without its last digit.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Walters was laid off from his data analyst job at a hospital.
He applied for unemployment twice, was denied, and appealed the decision.
Walters was approved for benefits, but his payments went to another person’s bank account because of the typo.
Reporters contacted his bank and the Department of Labor, and the $11,782 in missed benefits was deposited into his account.
- Back pay
- $11,782
- Account-number error
- Walters entered his checking account number without the last digit
- Applications
- Walters applied twice and was denied before appealing
- Previous job
- Data analyst at a hospital
- Location
- New York City
What people are saying
I was shocked. It was so unexpected,
Americans feel the looming fear of AI job losses,
The support meant to protect workers from financial devastation when they lose their jobs is brittle and out of date, and needs to be updated before the next economic crisis,