The restaurant industry is notorious for cutting hours instead of laying people off properly. At least with partial unemployment you can get some help while looking for something more stable. Good luck with your claim!

Just wanted to add that when you do file, make sure to keep detailed records of your reduced hours and any communication with your manager about the "temporary" nature of the cuts. NYS DOL will want to see documentation that the reduction wasn't your fault. Also, you can file online through the NY.gov website which is usually faster than trying to call. The system will walk you through questions to determine if you qualify for partial benefits based on your specific situation. Don't wait too long to file though - there's usually a waiting period before benefits start.

Just wanted to add another tip that helped me - if you're still having issues after trying all the browser fixes, check if you have any browser extensions enabled that might be blocking scripts or cookies. I had to disable my ad blocker and privacy extensions temporarily to get through the ID.me process. Also, make sure your ID isn't expired - seems obvious but ID.me won't accept expired documents even if they're only a few days past expiration. Once I renewed my license and disabled my extensions, the whole process went smoothly.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Thank you everyone for sharing your solutions - this thread is a lifesaver. I've been stuck on the ID.me verification for 3 days and was about to give up. Going to try the Chrome browser with cleared cache and make sure to scroll down on every page. It's so frustrating that NY unemployment requires this ID.me process when it's clearly so buggy. Really appreciate everyone taking the time to share what worked for them. Will report back if I get through!

have you tired going in person to a local office? sometimes thats the only way to get things done with these government dinosaurs lol

Call your state representative's office! I was stuck in document submission hell for 6 weeks and my assemblyman's office fixed it in 2 days. They have direct contacts at DOL that we don't have access to.

Just wanted to add that you should still be honest if an employer directly asks about your current employment status during an interview. But they can't discriminate against you for being unemployed, and it definitely won't show up on any background check or credit report they run.

I went through this exact same worry when I was on unemployment last year! Can confirm what others are saying - it absolutely does not show up on credit reports. I was so paranoid about it that I actually pulled my own credit report from all three bureaus just to double-check, and there was zero mention of my NYS unemployment benefits anywhere. The only thing that could potentially impact your credit while unemployed is if you miss payments on existing debts, but the unemployment itself is completely invisible to credit agencies. Good luck with your job search!

Forward the number they gave you to the real DOL fraud department. They keep track of these scammers and sometimes can shut them down.

This exact same thing happened to me last month! The scammer was super convincing too - they knew my name and claim details somehow. They even said my benefits would be stopped if I didn't "verify" my info immediately. I'm so glad you trusted your instincts and didn't give them anything! I ended up reporting it to the FTC and the real DOL fraud line. It's scary how sophisticated these scams are getting, but the real giveaway is always when they ask for your full SSN over the phone. The legitimate DOL already has all that information and would never need you to "verify" it like that.