good luck! these hearings are stressful but if you were really laid off due to budget cuts you should be fine. just tell the truth

I went through this exact situation about 6 months ago - employer claimed misconduct when it was really a layoff. Here's what helped me win: 1) Organize all your documents chronologically in a folder, 2) Write out a timeline of events leading to your termination, 3) Practice explaining your side clearly and concisely, 4) If you have any coworkers who witnessed the layoff discussions, ask if they'd be willing to testify. The judge will likely ask your employer very specific questions about their misconduct claim - if they can't provide solid evidence (like documented warnings, policy violations, etc.), their case falls apart. You've got this! The fact that you have that budget cuts email puts you in a really strong position.

If you're having trouble figuring out which benefit to apply for or need to talk to someone about your specific situation, I had good luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually get through to a real person at the various agencies. They helped me connect with the right department instead of getting stuck in phone trees. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Sometimes you just need to talk to a human to sort out these confusing situations.

Just want to add some clarity on the workers comp angle since you mentioned it was a work injury. Workers compensation is administered separately from NYS Department of Labor unemployment and disability benefits - it's usually handled through your employer's insurance carrier. If your injury happened at work, you should definitely explore workers comp first since it typically provides better coverage and protects your job. You can potentially receive workers comp and state disability simultaneously in some cases, but never unemployment while you're unable to work. I'd suggest contacting your HR department about workers comp procedures if you haven't already.

is anyone else having trouble with the site today? i keep getting a server error. cant even log in to do my weekly certification

Just wanted to follow up on this - did your claim start moving after completing the ID.me verification? For most people, it takes about 7-10 business days after verification for things to start moving, but it can sometimes be longer if there are other issues with the claim.

i stg unemployment is DESIGNED to be impossible to navigate. they don't want to pay us so they make us jump through 500 hoops hoping we'll just give up. don't let them win. be persistent.

Man this hits home so hard. I've been dealing with the exact same thing for 2 months now - zero communication about needing ID.me verification until I finally got through to someone last week. The worst part is they act like it's YOUR fault for not knowing about some random requirement they never told you about. I'm still waiting after completing ID.me verification too. The system is absolutely broken and it feels like they're hoping we'll just give up and go away. Stay strong and keep fighting - we shouldn't have to be detectives just to get benefits we're entitled to.

I had issues reaching NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about continuing my claim. Kept getting busy signals and when I did get through, I'd get hung up on after waiting forever. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that calls for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo showing how it works (https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI). Saved me hours of frustration and I got my questions answered same day.

The system is SO confusing! I feel like they make it hard on purpose so people give up and stop claiming. I've been on unemployment for 3 months now and I still feel like I'm doing something wrong even when I follow all the rules.