For more than two weeks now during the government shutdown , Imelda Avila-Thomas has been trying in vain to get approved for unemployment compensation to help cover essentials such as food and mortgage payments for her family while she's on unpaid furlough from her federal government job.

What You Need To Know

Thousands of furloughed federal workers are trying to navigate the unemployment system

About 26,000 federal workers filed initial claims from Sept. 28 through Oct. 18

The unemployment process presents those workers with some challenges

It generally takes two to three weeks to receive payments once approved in normal times, and now, the Labor Department has warned of delays

She kept asking questions and was ultimately sent a hyperlink to upload proof-of-income documents, whic

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