I feel your pain Giovanni - I'm dealing with almost the identical situation right now. Filed my claim in early October, got the same "high priority unit" story when I called two weeks ago, and I'm still sitting in pending status. The financial stress is absolutely crushing when you're trying to stretch every dollar while job hunting. Based on all the responses here, it sounds like contacting your state assembly representative is the most reliable way to actually get results. I'm going to look up mine today and make that call. The fact that so many people had success with that approach gives me hope that there's actually a way through this bureaucratic nightmare. Keep us updated if you try the assembly rep route - I think a lot of us in similar situations would benefit from knowing how it goes. Stay strong and don't give up!

I'm in almost the exact same situation - filed in early September and been stuck in pending ever since. Called last month and got the same "high priority unit" story with that 518 number. Spoiler alert: they never called back. Reading through all these responses though, it seems like contacting your assembly representative is the way to go. So many people here had success with that approach after months of getting nowhere with DOL directly. I'm going to look up my rep tomorrow and give it a shot. The financial stress while waiting is absolutely brutal - hang in there Giovanni, sounds like there are real solutions that work if we push hard enough through the right channels.

Good luck with your appeal! Just wanted to add that you should also check if you have any email confirmations from when you submitted those weekly certifications online. I had a similar situation and those confirmation emails really helped prove I had reported everything correctly. Also, if you used direct deposit for your unemployment benefits, your bank statements showing the deposits can help establish the timeline of when you were claiming benefits versus when you were working. The more documentation you have, the stronger your case will be.

I went through something similar last year and what really saved me was keeping detailed records during the appeal process. Make sure to request a hearing if your initial written appeal gets denied - I've seen cases where people win at the hearing level even after losing the paper review. Also, if you do end up owing something, NYS DOL is usually willing to work with you on payment plans that are way more manageable than wage garnishment. They'd rather get paid something regularly than deal with the paperwork of garnishing wages. The key is to stay in communication with them rather than ignoring their letters.

Quick question - did you report your reason for leaving when you first filed for unemployment? Sometimes people forget to mention it and that can cause issues later.

I went through something similar last year and won my appeal! The key is documentation - I took screenshots of every hostile email from my supervisor, kept records of the unsafe working conditions, and even got a statement from a coworker who witnessed the harassment. Also, don't just focus on what happened - explain how you tried to resolve the issues first (like talking to HR or your manager) before you felt you had no choice but to quit. The hearing officer really cared about seeing that I made reasonable efforts to fix the situation before leaving. You got this! 💪

Wait, so if I document everything and quit for good cause, do I still have to do job searches while my claim is being reviewed? Or does that start after approval?

You need to start job searching immediately when you file your claim, even during adjudication. The job search requirement is 3 activities per week and you need to keep detailed records. Don't wait for approval to start looking - that could hurt your case.

The whole quarterly system is designed to screw workers over if you ask me. Why should some arbitrary calendar quarters determine your benefits instead of just looking at your most recent work history? Makes no sense.

The base period calculation definitely seems confusing at first! One thing that helped me understand it was thinking of it like this: NYS Department of Labor needs time to process all the wage data from employers before they can use it for benefit calculations. That's why they skip the most recent quarter - the wage reports might not be complete yet. Also, don't worry too much about gaps between jobs - what matters is having enough earnings in at least 2 quarters of your base period. If you worked steadily for 18 months, you should be in good shape. You can always call or check online to see what quarters and earnings they have on file for you before filing your claim.