Has anyone actually FIXED this kind of problem before?? I'm in a similar situation (reported wrong hours) and still waiting for them to fix it after THREE MONTHS!!! The lack of communication is APPALLING!!! And they wonder why people get frustrated with the system!!

Just wanted to share my experience since I went through something similar last year. I worked part-time at a restaurant and forgot to report about 6 weeks of shifts. When I finally called NYSDOL, they were actually pretty reasonable about it. Here's what helped me: - I called first thing Monday morning (seemed to have better luck getting through early in the week) - Had all my wage information ready in a spreadsheet - Admitted the mistake upfront and emphasized it was unintentional They set up a payment plan for the overpayment over 12 months, which was totally manageable. The whole process took about 2 months to fully resolve, but no fraud penalties since I self-reported. Don't panic - these mistakes happen more than you'd think, and they're used to dealing with them. The fact that you're proactively trying to fix it will work in your favor.

Congratulations on getting it resolved! Your experience really highlights how broken the communication system is - it's frustrating that you had to go through weeks of waiting just to find out about one missing document. For others still dealing with this, Daniel's story shows that persistence pays off. The fact that the agent was able to call the temp agency directly and get the issue resolved immediately proves that most of these delays are bureaucratic rather than actual processing problems. I'm dealing with a similar situation with my freelance work verification, and this gives me hope that there's actually a real person who can help once you get through. Thanks for sharing the update - it's encouraging to see someone actually get their payments released after all that waiting!

I'm going through almost the exact same thing right now - submitted my documents 4 weeks ago and haven't heard anything back. Also did temp work through multiple agencies last year which seems to be causing complications. Reading through these responses is really helpful, especially Daniel's update about getting it resolved! I had no idea about services like Claimyr or that you could request hardship escalation. I'm definitely going to try calling with that specific phrase about "document review for release of held payments" that Ella mentioned. It's so frustrating that the system doesn't communicate what's actually needed. Like, just tell us what specific document is missing instead of making us wait weeks in limbo! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least now I know I'm not alone in this mess and there are actually ways to get through to someone who can help.

The whole system is so confusing! I filed three weeks ago and still haven't seen a dime. They keep asking for more paperwork and every time I call I get a different answer about what I need to submit. How are people supposed to survive while waiting for this bureaucratic mess to sort itself out??

Just went through this process myself a few months ago. The waiting week is required by law - you won't get paid for your first week of unemployment even if approved. After that, payments typically arrive within 2-3 business days of filing your weekly certification. You can set up direct deposit through your online account which is much faster than waiting for a paper check. Make sure you keep filing every single week even during the waiting period or you could lose benefits. Also document your job search activities since they may audit that later.

I had the same worry when I was approaching my limit last year. If you can't reach anyone at NYS Department of Labor to ask about your specific situation, I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. It was way easier than spending hours on hold trying to get through myself. The agent was able to explain exactly where I stood with my benefits and what options I had.

26 weeks goes by SO fast when you're actually living it. I remember thinking I had plenty of time when I first started collecting and then suddenly I was down to my last few payments. The system is just not designed for how long it actually takes to find good employment these days.

UPDATE: I got through!!!! I used that Claimyr service someone mentioned above and it actually worked - got me connected to an agent in about 30 minutes. The rep confirmed it was exactly what I thought - just needed a manual refresh on my account to clear the $0 payment glitch. My payments should process within 3 business days including all backpay. For anyone else facing this issue - it really is just a simple fix on their end, but you HAVE to talk to someone. The system won't fix it automatically no matter how long you wait. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

So glad you got this resolved @Mateo! This $0 payment glitch has been happening to SO many people lately. I went through the same thing in December and it's incredibly stressful when you're depending on those benefits. The fact that it's such a simple fix but requires talking to a human is just ridiculous - they really need to automate this or at least make the phone system more accessible. Thanks for sharing your experience with Claimyr too, that's good to know there are options when the regular phone lines are impossible to get through on. Hope your payments come through quickly!