I'm dealing with this exact same nightmare - filed my claim in mid-December and I'm now at 6 weeks with nothing but "pending" status. What's really frustrating is that I had a straightforward layoff from a company where I worked for over 2 years, so there shouldn't be anything complicated about my case. Like everyone else here, I've called dozens of times and either get the busy signal immediately or sit on hold for hours just to get disconnected. The complete lack of communication is what's driving me insane - even just knowing there's a specific issue or getting a realistic timeline would help so much. I've had to borrow money from family for rent which is humiliating. Reading all these comments makes it clear this is a massive system failure affecting tons of people, not individual problems with our claims. I'm going to start documenting everything and contact my state representative like others have suggested. We shouldn't have to become advocates just to get basic unemployment benefits processed. Hang in there everyone - hopefully our collective pressure will force some accountability from NYS DOL.

I'm experiencing the exact same frustrating situation - filed my initial claim in early December and I'm now at week 7 with nothing but "pending" status and zero communication from NYS DOL. Like so many others here, I've made countless attempts to call but either get immediately disconnected or wait hours on hold just to get cut off. What's really striking is reading through all these comments and seeing we ALL have nearly identical experiences - same filing timeframes, same pending status, same phone issues. This clearly shows it's a massive systemic failure at the department level, not problems with individual claims. I've been keeping detailed records of every call attempt and weekly certification, and after reading everyone's suggestions I'm definitely going to contact my assembly member's office this week. The financial stress is overwhelming, but honestly the complete lack of transparency about what's causing these delays or any timeline is what's really affecting my mental health. It's both comforting and alarming to see how widespread this problem is. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences - knowing we're not alone in this broken system helps, and hopefully if enough of us contact our representatives with documented evidence of these systematic delays, we can finally force some accountability and get the answers we all desperately need.

I've been following this thread closely as someone who's been on unemployment for about 3 months now, and I have to say - this has been one of the most helpful discussions I've seen on this topic. What really strikes me is how consistent everyone's experiences have been when they chose to be transparent with NYS DOL about family travel. Every single person who called ahead and was honest about weddings or family events had positive interactions with understanding agents, while those who tried to hide travel faced serious consequences later. I don't have any upcoming travel myself, but I'm bookmarking this thread because the advice here is gold. The key takeaways seem to be: 1) Call NYS DOL 3-4 weeks before travel, 2) Be completely honest about the family event, 3) Don't file weekly claims while away, 4) Resume filing when you return, and 5) Use Claimyr if you can't get through regular lines. Hannah, I really hope your call goes smoothly - your sister's wedding sounds like exactly the type of legitimate family event these agents deal with regularly. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences here, especially those who were honest about the financial impact. This kind of transparent community discussion is invaluable for people navigating these stressful situations.

I'm dealing with this exact situation right now and this thread has been absolutely invaluable! I have my brother's wedding in the UK coming up in about 4 weeks and I've been losing sleep over how to handle it with my unemployment benefits. Reading through everyone's experiences here - especially the consistent pattern of NYS DOL agents being understanding when people are upfront about family weddings - has given me so much confidence to do the right thing. What really convinced me was seeing the stark contrast between people who were honest (smooth experiences, understanding agents) versus those who tried to hide travel (audit nightmares, owing thousands back). Sean's story about owing $3K+ for just 4 days in Canada was a real wake-up call. I'm calling NYS DOL tomorrow morning to report my travel dates and request to suspend my claim for those 10 days. Yes, losing around $1,400 in benefits will hurt, but the peace of mind and avoiding potential fraud issues is worth infinitely more. The fact that multiple people mentioned agents saying family weddings are common legitimate reasons they handle regularly makes me feel so much better about reaching out. If I can't get through the regular lines, I'll definitely try Claimyr like others have recommended. Thank you everyone for being so transparent about your experiences - this thread should be required reading for anyone on unemployment facing family travel decisions!

Wait, I thought FUTA was something we paid as employees? I've been so confused about all these unemployment taxes. My adjudication has been going on for a month and nobody at NYS Department of Labor will explain anything to me!

The whole unemployment tax system is such a mess. Employers are supposed to pay FUTA but half of them don't even understand their obligations. Then when workers need benefits, we're the ones who suffer from their incompetence.

So I was about to throw my phone after 3 hours on hold when my neighbor told me about Claimyr. It's this service where they wait on hold for you and then call you when they get an actual human. It was the only thing that worked after weeks of trying. claimyr.com saved my sanity and got my claim fixed.

I've been dealing with this nightmare too! After reading all these comments about Claimyr, I'm definitely going to try it. Seems like multiple people here have had success with it. @Mateo - definitely try calling at exactly 8am like @Zoe suggested first, but if that doesn't work, the Claimyr thing seems legit based on all these testimonials. The fact that so many different people are vouching for it makes me think it's not a scam. Good luck with your claim!

Thanks for asking this question! I was wondering the same thing but was too embarrassed to ask. The unemployment system has so many acronyms and requirements that aren't explained clearly anywhere.

I totally understand the confusion with MWA requirements! When I first started filing, I made the mistake of not keeping proper documentation and it came back to bite me during an audit. Here's what I've learned works best: create a simple spreadsheet with columns for date, activity type (job application, networking, training, etc.), company/organization name, contact info, and any reference numbers. For the MWA name field, use the specific employer name for applications, the event name for job fairs, or the course title for training programs. Also, don't forget that informational interviews and career counseling sessions count too - I wish someone had told me that earlier since those are sometimes easier to arrange than finding new job postings every week.