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I had similar tax questions about my unemployment benefits and couldn't get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor or the IRS phone lines. After weeks of trying, I found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that actually got me connected to a tax specialist who could explain how the unemployment exclusion worked. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really helped me understand what I needed to do.
I had a similar situation last year - worked part-time retail and wasn't sure if I qualified. Turned out I did! The key thing is having enough wages in your base period. If you're having trouble getting through to the NYS Department of Labor phone lines (which is super common), I actually used a service called Claimyr that helped me get connected to an agent quickly. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me a lot of frustration trying to call myself.
omg this explains so much!! I was wondering why the unemployment rate seemed low when everyone I know is either unemployed or underemployed. Sounds like the official numbers don't tell the whole story at all
The whole system is designed to make the numbers look better than reality. When I was on unemployment for 6 months last year, half the people in my job search workshop weren't even counted in the official rate because they'd given up looking or were only working a few hours a week. NYS Department of Labor knows this but they still report the misleading numbers.
If you really want to visit an office, there are NYS Department of Labor career centers but honestly the online system is so much easier. I tried calling their phone number first and was on hold for like 2 hours before giving up and just doing it online.
Yeah the phone system is terrible. If you absolutely need to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor, I found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call.
Ava Garcia
My sister worked for customs and border protection and when she got unemployment last year the process was exactly the same as regular unemployment. Filed online, did weekly claims, had to do job searches. Only difference was it said UCFE on her payment stub instead of regular UI. Don't overthink it - just file normally through NYS Department of Labor.
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Giovanni Mancini
•That's reassuring! I was worried there would be a completely different system. We'll have him file this week.
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Miguel Silva
One thing to watch out for - if your husband has any unused annual leave that gets paid out, that might affect his unemployment start date. Federal agencies sometimes delay the effective separation date until after leave payouts are finished. Make sure NYS Department of Labor has the correct last day of work vs last day of pay.
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