This thread is absolutely amazing - I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! Got that same confusing notice about documents I supposedly received weeks ago (spoiler: never got them) and my deadline is in just 4 days. I've been frantically searching my dashboard for any kind of upload section but like everyone else, I only see weekly certifications and payment history. Reading through all these experiences has been such a huge relief - I was starting to think I was completely incompetent with technology, but clearly this January system update broke everything for tons of people. Based on all the success stories here, I'm definitely calling at 8 AM sharp tomorrow morning and will be obsessively checking my message center every few minutes for any direct upload links. It's absolutely infuriating that we have to become amateur IT specialists just to submit basic required documents, but I'm so grateful for everyone sharing their real solutions when the official system is completely useless. This community has provided more actual help than anything I've found from NYSDOL directly! 🙏

I'm experiencing this exact same issue and this thread has been incredibly reassuring! Just received that confusing notice about documents I supposedly got weeks ago (definitely never received them) and my deadline is approaching in 5 days. Like everyone else, I've searched everywhere on my dashboard but only see the usual weekly certification and payment history - no document upload section anywhere. After reading all these experiences, it's clear the January 2025 system update has created widespread technical glitches affecting tons of claimants. I'm definitely going to try the 8 AM calling strategy tomorrow morning based on all the success stories shared here, and I'll make sure to obsessively check my message center for any direct upload links from agents. It's absolutely maddening that we have to become tech troubleshooters just to submit basic required documents when people's benefits are on the line, but I'm so grateful for this community sharing real solutions when the official system is completely failing us. This thread has provided more actual help than anything I could find from NYSDOL directly! 🙏

I'm in a similar boat - my company just announced layoffs for next month and I'm trying to figure out the best approach. From reading everyone's responses, it sounds like taking the severance is definitely the way to go. I'm curious though - does anyone know if there are any tax implications I should be aware of when receiving both severance and unemployment benefits? I want to make sure I'm setting aside enough for taxes since this will probably put me in a weird income situation for the year. Also, has anyone had experience with how this affects health insurance coverage? My COBRA will kick in but I'm wondering if the severance payment timeline impacts when I might qualify for marketplace subsidies.

I went through a similar layoff situation about a year ago and can confirm what others have said - definitely take the severance! The key thing to understand is that NYS Department of Labor considers severance as "deductible income" which means it reduces your weekly benefit amount dollar-for-dollar during the period it covers, but it doesn't disqualify you from unemployment entirely. So if your severance equals your normal weekly pay for 8 weeks, you'll likely get $0 in UI benefits for those 8 weeks, but then your full benefits will kick in after that. File your claim immediately after your last day of work though - don't wait for the severance period to end. This way you'll already be in the system and your benefit year will have started. Also, make sure you accurately report the severance amount each week when you do your certifications. The whole process was actually more straightforward than I expected once I understood how it worked.

I've been lurking on this thread for days and finally decided to jump in - you all are LIFESAVERS! I've been stuck in unemployment hell for almost two weeks now with that same "system unable to process request" error. Reading through everyone's troubleshooting adventures has given me so much hope and actual actionable steps to try. What's absolutely mind-blowing is how this community has essentially created the most comprehensive guide to fixing NY's broken unemployment system that exists anywhere on the internet. The cellular data + incognito + early morning formula seems bulletproof based on all the success stories, and the technical explanations about the fraud detection system finally make sense of why this is happening. I'm planning my attack for Thursday morning: complete wifi shutdown, phone hotspot only, Chrome incognito mode, all extensions disabled, 6:45am sharp, with all my employment history already written out. The screenshot suggestion from Carmen is brilliant too - definitely doing that in case something goes sideways. It's absolutely insane that we need to become tech ninjas just to file for unemployment benefits in 2025, but this thread proves that community problem-solving can overcome even the most dysfunctional government systems. Thank you to everyone who shared their struggles AND their victories - you're making this nightmare bearable for the rest of us! 🚀

This thread is absolutely incredible - it's become like the unofficial NY unemployment troubleshooting bible! I've been struggling with the exact same issues for the past 10 days and was honestly starting to lose hope until I found this discussion. Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a relief - knowing it's not just me dealing with this broken system and that there are actually proven solutions that work. The pattern is so clear now: cellular data + incognito mode + early morning timing seems to be the magic formula based on all the success stories. I'm planning to attempt the full protocol tomorrow morning: wifi completely off, phone hotspot only, Chrome incognito, all extensions disabled, 6:30am sharp, with everything pre-written. The additional tips about screenshotting each page and waiting 24 hours between attempts if something goes wrong are really valuable too. What amazes me is how this community has essentially reverse-engineered NYSDOL's broken fraud detection system and found multiple workarounds that actually work. You've all done the troubleshooting work that the state should have provided from day one! It's ridiculous that we need these elaborate workarounds just to access basic unemployment benefits, but I'm so grateful everyone took the time to share what worked for them. This is exactly the kind of community support that makes all the difference when you're already stressed about being unemployed. Thank you to everyone who shared both their struggles and their victories - you're helping so many people get through this nightmare! 🙏

I'm going through this exact same situation right now and it's been so stressful! I have like 8 different jobs over the past 18 months including some gig work and a few places where I only lasted a couple weeks. Reading all these responses is really helpful - sounds like I need to just be thorough and honest about everything. The base period calculation is confusing but it seems like the safest approach is to list all jobs from the past 2 years and let them figure out what applies to my specific case. My biggest worry is that I can't remember exact start/end dates for some of the shorter jobs, but good to know I can note them as approximate. Has anyone dealt with reporting gig work like Uber or DoorDash? Do those count as "employment" that needs to be reported or are they considered self-employment?

I'm in a very similar boat - multiple jobs over the past couple years with some gaps and I was really worried about how to handle the work history section. After reading through all these responses, it seems like the consensus is to err on the side of being thorough rather than leaving things out. The base period explanation makes sense but I think I'll just report everything from the past 2 years to be safe. What's really reassuring is hearing that job-hopping and varied work histories are common now - I was so worried they'd see my resume and think I was unreliable. For anyone else stressing about this, it sounds like the most important thing is being honest about your most recent job separation (which in your case was a layoff, so that should be fine). Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, this thread has been super helpful for someone navigating this confusing process for the first time!

performance issues vs misconduct is a big difference though. if someone's just not good at their job that's not their fault really, they should get unemployment. if they're stealing or showing up drunk that's different

As someone who went through this recently, I can confirm what others are saying - you don't pay unemployment benefits directly to the employee. The NYS Department of Labor handles all payments from the trust fund that employers like you contribute to through payroll taxes. For performance issues (not misconduct), the employee will likely qualify for benefits, but this doesn't mean extra costs upfront for you. Your future UI tax rate could be affected if you have multiple claims, but that's calculated annually based on your overall claims history. Document everything well for your records, but performance terminations rarely disqualify someone from receiving benefits in NY.