same thing happened to me

Don't give up! I was disqualified initially because there was some confusion about my last day of work. My employer reported the wrong date to NYS Department of Labor and it made it look like I quit without notice. Once I provided my actual termination paperwork and explained the timeline, they reversed the disqualification. The whole thing took about 6 weeks but I got all my back pay. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while the appeal is pending - that way if you win, you'll get benefits for those weeks too.

The whole system is ridiculous honestly. Why should federal employees have to jump through extra hoops just because our paychecks came from a different source? NYS Department of Labor should streamline this process instead of making us provide all these additional federal documents.

Just to add - if you worked for multiple employers including federal and state/private, make sure NYS Department of Labor knows about ALL your employment in the base period. The federal wages still count toward your total benefit calculation even though they're reimbursed differently.

Just be prepared that they might deny your initial claim and you'll have to appeal. The burden of proof is on you to show you had no choice but to quit. Document everything you can remember about the toxic behavior - dates, witnesses, any HR complaints you made. Even if you don't have written proof, your testimony during the hearing can still carry weight.

Don't give up before you even try! NYS Department of Labor actually sides with workers more often than people think when there's clear evidence of hostile work environments. The key is being thorough in your application and not leaving out any details about why continuing to work there wasn't reasonable.

Before you quit, try calling NYS Department of Labor directly to discuss your situation. I know their phone lines are always busy, but I actually used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have this video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. The agent was able to explain exactly what documentation I'd need for a good cause quit before I made any decisions.

just want to add that even if you do get approved for quitting with good cause, there might be a longer waiting period before benefits start. and you'll still need to do job search activities and file weekly claims. the whole system is designed to make it as difficult as possible

employees don't pay into unemployment in NY unlike some other states where they deduct it from your paycheck. its all employer funded here

My brother works in HR and he says their company pays like $500 per employee per year in unemployment taxes but it varies based on how many claims they've had. Companies that lay people off a lot pay way more.