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Yeah but it's not just about individual cases - this creates a whole cycle where businesses hesitate to hire because they know wage costs might force them to cut later. Then more people end up needing unemployment benefits which puts pressure on the whole system...
To answer your administrative remedies question - you can file a formal complaint through NYS Department of Labor's internal grievance process, contact the NYS Office of the State Comptroller, reach out to your elected representatives, and if applicable, file complaints with federal agencies if there are civil rights violations. Document everything and keep pushing through official channels. Courts generally won't hear cases unless you've exhausted these options first.
The unemployment system is so broken. Even when you have legitimate reasons to quit they make you jump through hoops to prove it. Meanwhile the harasser probably still has their job and will do it to someone else. Sorry you had to go through this.
Hope this helps! I quit my retail job for similar reasons (different type of harassment) and got benefits approved after about 6 weeks. The adjudication process takes time because they have to contact your former employer and investigate. Just be completely honest and provide every piece of documentation you have.
If you're having trouble getting through to the NYS Department of Labor to check on your claim status or get clarification about your eligibility, I had good luck using claimyr.com - it's a service that helps you actually reach a real person at the unemployment office. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of busy signals and dropped calls when I needed to verify my job separation reason.
From what I understand the main categories are involuntary job loss (layoffs, firing without misconduct, business closure), reduced hours that qualify for partial benefits, and some voluntary separations with good cause. The NYS Department of Labor looks at each situation individually but your layoff should be pretty clear cut for approval.
Nia Wilson
Mine got stuck in adjudication for 7 weeks because my previous employer initially said I quit but then corrected it to layoff. The back and forth was ridiculous! Even though it eventually got approved retroactively, those weeks without income were brutal.
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Anastasia Popova
•That sounds terrible! Did you end up getting all the back payments once it was resolved?
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Nia Wilson
•Yes, got everything backdated to my original filing date. But the stress of not knowing was awful.
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Mateo Martinez
honestly the whole system is a mess... took forever for my cousin last month and she had to jump through so many hoops just to prove she was laid off
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