thanks for asking this question, I was wondering the same thing about exhaustee status but was too embarrassed to ask

Don't feel embarrassed at all @Alice Coleman! This exhaustee status is confusing and poorly explained by NYS DOL. I'm in a similar boat - hit my 26 weeks recently and had no idea what came next. From reading everyone's responses here, it sounds like the key is figuring out if you earned enough wages during your benefit year to qualify for a new claim. I worked some gig jobs while collecting so I'm hoping that might be enough. Going to try filing a new application online this week. Really wish the state would send out clearer notifications about your options when you hit exhaustee status instead of leaving people to figure it out themselves.

This gives me hope! I'm waiting for my appeal hearing date still. Did you have to provide a lot of documentation or was it mostly just your testimony? I'm worried I don't have enough evidence to prove my case.

Congratulations Justin! That's such a relief after 8 weeks of stress. Just wanted to add that you should also keep an eye on your tax situation - the back pay will likely be reported as taxable income all in one year even though it covers multiple weeks. You might want to set aside some money for taxes or consider having them withhold federal taxes from your future payments if you haven't already. I learned this the hard way when I got my back pay and ended up with a bigger tax bill than expected. But definitely celebrate this win - the appeal process is exhausting and you deserved to win!

Just be aware that you'll need to keep doing job searches even for partial benefits! A lot of people don't realize this but NYS Department of Labor still requires you to look for work and log your job contacts even if you're working full-time. It's annoying but that's the rule.

I was in a similar situation a few months ago! I lost my part-time evening job at a restaurant while keeping my full-time day job. What helped me was gathering all my wage statements from both employers for the past 18 months before filing. NYS Department of Labor used my combined earnings from both jobs to calculate my weekly benefit rate, then reduced it based on what I still earn from my full-time job. The process took about 3 weeks to get my first payment, but it was worth it since I was getting around $180/week in partial benefits. Just make sure to report your full-time wages accurately each week when you certify - any discrepancies will cause delays.

The whole tax thing with unemployment is such a mess. They should just automatically withhold like 15% and let people opt out if they want, not the other way around. Too many people get screwed at tax time because they didn't realize unemployment is taxable income.

Just want to add that if you do decide to have taxes withheld, the 10% federal withholding might not be enough depending on your total income for the year. If you had a higher-paying job before unemployment or have other income sources, you might want to consider making quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid underpayment penalties. You can calculate what you might owe using the IRS withholding calculator on their website. Also worth noting that if you're collecting unemployment for most of the year, you'll probably want to file your taxes as early as possible since unemployment 1099-G forms sometimes have errors that need to be corrected.

I literally just went through this exact same thing 2 weeks ago! I was in full panic mode when I realized I submitted my questionnaire 5 days late. Called the DOL (used that claimyr service someone mentioned - totally worth it) and the rep explained that they have an informal grace period and rarely deny claims for being a few weeks late, especially if it's your first time. They said the system automatically flags late submissions for manual review but that doesn't mean denial. Mine got approved after about 8 days of review. Just make sure you don't have any other outstanding issues with your claim and you should be fine. The stress isn't worth it - they deal with late submissions all the time!

I work at a local community center and see people dealing with this all the time! From what I've observed helping folks navigate the system, late questionnaire submissions are super common and they definitely don't automatically deny for it. The DOL knows people have busy lives and things happen. What usually matters more is that you submitted it and can explain why it was late if they ask. I've seen people submit questionnaires weeks late and still get approved - it just takes a bit longer for them to process. The key is staying responsive to any follow-up requests they might have. You did the right thing by submitting it as soon as you remembered. Try not to stress too much about it!