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Thank you all for the helpful responses! I'm going to: 1) Talk to my boss about the NY Paid Sick Leave law they might not know about, 2) Look into disability benefits even though the 7-day waiting period might make it impractical, and 3) Use Claimyr to reach someone at DOL if I can't get through on my own tomorrow. I really appreciate all the guidance - this community is amazing!
I'm new to this community but wanted to share my recent experience since it might help. I had COVID in February and was out for 6 days. Like you, I work for a small business (8 employees) and they claimed they didn't offer paid sick leave. After reading about NY's Paid Sick Leave law, I approached my boss with the info and it turns out they genuinely didn't know about the requirement! They ended up paying me for those days retroactively. It's worth having that conversation - many small business owners aren't trying to be malicious, they just don't know all the labor laws. Also, I did apply for NY Disability Benefits as a backup but you're right about the 7-day waiting period being a problem for shorter illnesses. Hope you feel better soon and get this sorted out!
Welcome to the community @Kai Santiago! That's really encouraging to hear that your boss was willing to pay retroactively once they learned about the law. It gives me hope that my conversation will go similarly well. I'm definitely feeling optimistic about approaching this as an education opportunity rather than a confrontation. Thanks for sharing your experience and for the well wishes!
Ugh this is so relatable! I went through the exact same runaround last month. After getting transferred 4 times and disconnected twice, I finally got someone who explained they needed my claim confirmation number (the one from when you first filed), plus all the usual stuff like SSN and DOB. But here's the kicker - they also wanted the EXACT dollar amount of my last benefit payment. Like who keeps track of that?? I had to log into my account while on the phone to find it. The whole system is designed to frustrate people into giving up, I swear. Keep trying though, persistence is the only thing that works with NY unemployment!
Oh wow, the claim confirmation number! That's probably what they were looking for when I called. I definitely don't have that memorized either - who would?? Thanks for sharing your experience, gives me hope that I can eventually get through this mess. Going to dig through my old emails to find that confirmation number before I call back.
its crazy how this whole process is such a black box. we literally have no idea whats happening with our claims until someone decides to tell us. meanwhile bills piling up and we just gotta wait 🤦♂️
This is super helpful, thank you for sharing all the details! I'm currently stuck in the same "under review" limbo for about 3 weeks now. The info about the area codes is gold - I've definitely been ignoring calls thinking they were spam. Going to try calling early tomorrow morning at 8am sharp. It's encouraging to hear that someone actually got through and received useful information. Fingers crossed the rest of us start seeing some movement soon too! 🤞
One thing that helped me was reaching out to my old network. I was embarrassed at first but people were surprisingly understanding and helpful. Sometimes it's not about what you know but who you know, especially when you're trying to explain an employment gap.
I'm in a similar situation - been unemployed for about 10 months and the anxiety is real. One thing that's helped me is treating job searching like a part-time job itself. I block out 4-5 hours each weekday for applications, networking, and skill building. It makes me feel more productive and gives structure to my days. Also, I started a simple spreadsheet to track my applications and any responses - it helps me see that I am making progress even when it doesn't feel like it. The NYS DOL portal lets you log these activities easily for your weekly claims. Don't give up - we're all in this together.
Ravi Malhotra
I went through something very similar about 6 months ago - payments just stopped out of nowhere even though I had money left and was still in my benefit year. The 0 effective days remaining is basically the system's way of saying there's some kind of block on your account, but it won't tell you what it is. In my case, I got flagged for "potential overpayment" because I had reported some freelance work earlier in my claim and their system couldn't figure out how to handle it properly. Took 3 weeks of calling every single day before I finally got through to someone who could actually help. The rep told me this is happening to tons of people right now because they updated their fraud detection system and it's catching a lot of legitimate claims. Super frustrating but once you get the right person on the phone, they can usually fix it pretty quickly. Keep trying to call, and definitely keep certifying every week like others have said. Also try calling right when they open at 8am - that's when I finally got through. Don't give up!
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Lorenzo McCormick
I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation right now! My payments stopped 3 weeks ago and I also have 0 effective days remaining even though my benefit year doesn't end until January 2022. It's so frustrating because the system gives you no explanation whatsoever. I've been calling nonstop but can't get through to anyone. After reading all these comments about Claimyr, I'm seriously considering trying it - seems like multiple people here have had success with it. The fact that so many legitimate accounts are getting flagged by their "improved" fraud detection system is ridiculous. Thanks for posting this - at least now I know I'm not alone and that it's fixable once you actually reach a human being. Going to keep certifying every week and hopefully get this resolved soon. This whole system is such a mess but hearing that others got their back payments gives me hope!
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Nia Williams
•I'm in the exact same boat! Had my payments cut off about 2 weeks ago with that dreaded "0 effective days" showing up. Like you said, it's maddening that the system just stops payments without any explanation or guidance on what to do next. I've been calling every morning at 8am sharp but still can't get through - the phone lines are absolutely swamped. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it sounds like this fraud detection system they implemented is causing way more problems than it's solving. Definitely going to look into that Claimyr service since so many people here seem to have had success with it. At least we know we're not alone in this mess and that there's light at the end of the tunnel once we can actually talk to someone who can help!
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