


Ask the community...
ugh the whole system is so slow and confusing. i've been waiting 4 weeks and still haven't gotten my determination letter. tried calling NYS Department of Labor like 50 times and either get busy signals or get hung up on after waiting for hours. it's ridiculous that they can't give you a straight answer about when you'll get paid when people are struggling to pay bills
I had the same problem with getting through to NYS Department of Labor on the phone. I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that calls for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. I was able to get my claim status updated within a day of talking to someone. Worth checking out if you're stuck in the system.
Make sure you're doing your job search requirements too! Even while waiting for approval you need to be applying for jobs and keeping track in the system. I think it's 3 job contacts per week now. If you don't do the job search stuff they can deny your whole claim.
If you're ever in a situation where you need to contact the NYS Department of Labor about your coverage or file a claim, I'd recommend checking out claimyr.com. I used their service when I couldn't get through to anyone at the unemployment office - they have a system that helps you actually reach a live agent instead of sitting on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed to verify my claim status.
How much does something like that cost? Seems like you shouldn't have to pay extra just to talk to someone at a government agency.
If you do get fired and need to reach NYS Department of Labor to check on your claim status, I had good luck with claimyr.com - it's a service that calls and waits on hold for you. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really saved me time when I was trying to get through during my adjudication period and couldn't reach anyone at the regular phone numbers.
Just make sure you file your claim right away if you do get terminated. You can't backdate benefits in most cases, so don't wait thinking you'll find another job quickly. Even if you're not sure you'll qualify, it's better to file and let NYS Department of Labor make the determination.
Look, the whole system is rigged anyway. They raise the minimum wage to make themselves look good, then small businesses can't afford to hire as many people, unemployment goes up, and guess who suffers? Regular working people like us. Meanwhile the politicians pat themselves on the back for 'helping workers' while we're all fighting for fewer jobs. It's a joke.
This reminds me of when I was unemployed back in 2019 before all the wage increases really kicked in. I remember thinking it would be easier to find work then, but honestly it was still pretty competitive. I think every generation thinks the job market was better before whatever economic changes happened during their time. The important thing is just to keep applying and stay positive about it.
Ryder Everingham
The real issue is that NYS Department of Labor is completely understaffed and their phone system is designed to discourage people from calling. Even when claims are 'routine' they're taking longer than they should because there's just not enough people processing them. It's intentional bureaucratic friction.
0 coins
Lilly Curtis
•I hate that this is probably true but you're right. The whole system feels like it's set up to make you give up before you get benefits.
0 coins
Leo Simmons
Just went through this myself in December. Filed on a Monday, got approved exactly 2 weeks later on the following Monday. Make sure you're filing your weekly claims even while it's pending - that's really important or you'll lose those weeks.
0 coins
Max Reyes
•Yes I've been doing the weekly claims! Thanks for confirming that 2 weeks is realistic for a normal case.
0 coins