Just curious - are you sure you're reporting everything correctly on your weekly claims? Sometimes employers get suspicious if they hear through the grapevine that someone might be working under the table or something. Not saying you are, just wondering if there's something that triggered their interest.

Your former employer is likely just trying to intimidate you. In New York, unemployment benefit records are confidential and protected under state privacy laws. They cannot access your individual payment history, weekly certifications, or any personal details about your claim through public records requests or FOIL. The only information employers typically receive is notification that a claim was filed against their account (which affects their unemployment insurance tax rate) and the opportunity to contest the claim if they believe it was filed inappropriately. If they continue to harass you about this, I'd recommend documenting their communications and potentially reporting the harassment to the Department of Labor. Stay confident - you're protected by privacy laws here.

UPDATE: I tried using Chrome instead of Safari and clearing my cache like someone suggested, but still got the same error. I ended up using the Claimyr service that was mentioned and got through to an agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed there's a known issue with the direct deposit verification system affecting some banks. They took my information and set up the direct deposit manually on their end. Problem solved! Thanks everyone for your help!

Glad you got it sorted out! This is really helpful to know that there's actually a confirmed system issue on NYSDOL's end. I've been dealing with the same problem for the past week and was starting to think I was going crazy. It's frustrating that they haven't posted any notice about this known issue on their website - would save people a lot of time and stress. Thanks for sharing the update and the solution that worked!

welcome to NY! yes we have UI benefits and they're actually pretty good compared to some states... just be patient with the system

Just wanted to add that when you file your interstate claim, make sure you have all your wage information from your previous state employer handy - pay stubs, W-2s, etc. The NYS Department of Labor will need to request your wage records from the other state, and having your documentation ready can help speed things up if there are any discrepancies. Also, don't forget to certify for benefits weekly once your claim is approved, even if you're still waiting for the interstate verification to complete. Good luck with your claim!

Been dealing with this stuff for years and honestly the hardest part is getting through to NYS Department of Labor when you have questions about claims or need to dispute something. Their phone lines are always jammed. I finally started using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that gets you connected to actual agents without the endless hold times. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration.

just a heads up - if any of those 3 employees file for unemployment your rate WILL go up next year. theres no way around it with layoffs. budget for at least a 1-2% increase in your SUI rate

Ugh this happened to me last year and it was SO stressful. My employer waited until literally the last day to contest my claim, then I had to go through the whole adjudication process. Took weeks longer to get approved. I was checking my account like 50 times a day lol. Hang in there, most claims do get approved eventually.

If your employer doesn't respond in time, the claim should auto-approve. But then sometimes they try to contest it later and that's when things get messy. Keep documenting everything just in case you need it for an appeal later on.