classic new york unemployment nonsense. they LOVE to accuse people of fraud with zero evidence. happened to me in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and it took 4 months to fix. the system is designed to frustrate you into giving up.

Make sure you didn't accidentally answer a certification question wrong. I nearly had this happen because I misunderstood a question about being "available for work" during a week I had a medical appointment. Even one wrong answer can trigger fraud flags.

I've helped 3 family members resolve this exact issue in the past month. Fastest solution was using claimyr.com to get through to a live agent. It's the best money I've ever spent to finally get benefits paid quickly. You'll likely need to verify your identity with documents, but a real agent can process this while you're on the phone instead of waiting weeks. Don't delay!

Not to be a downer but this same thing happened to me in July... they froze my account for "identity verification" and it took SEVEN WEEKS to resolve. I called every single day. The system is completely broken. Start looking for emergency assistance now just in case.

Try this temporary workaround: go to the password reset page first, but don't actually reset. Then go back to the main page and try logging in. Worked for me just now!

The WORST part is you can't even talk to someone about it because you can't get past their stupid phone system 😡 I've been dealing with NY unemployment for years and it never gets better. The system is designed to make you give up.

ny unemployment and keybank are the most toxic relationship ever lmao. been using the card for 7 months and had nothing but problems. i ended up talking to someone at the dept of labor first and they gave me a special number to call keybank that actually worked. try calling DOL first!

your supposed to set up direct deposit as soon as u get approved for benefits bro! nobody should be using those trash KeyBank cards in 2023. too late now but for the future: login to ur account > payment method > direct deposit

Could be identity verification. i got a weird message like this and then 2 days later got an email about needing to upload ID documents. Check all your emails including spam folder.

Omg are you me??? This LITERALLY just happened to me last week! I freaked out but then my payment came through normally anyway. I think its just the system being glitchy af as usual.

The whole ny unemployment system needs to be completely rebuilt from scratch. Total nightmare from start to finish.

LPT: If you're still waiting on your unemployment tax refund, don't call the regular IRS number - call the Tax Advocate Service instead at 877-777-4778. They can actually look up your specific case and tell you if there are any issues or approximately when to expect your payment. The regular reps have zero visibility into the unemployment adjustment process.

FYI - when this happened to me, I found out the payment will bounce back to unemployment after about 10 business days if your bank account is closed. Then you gotta call them to have it reissued. Unfortunately there's no way around calling to fix this 🙄

unpopular opinion: maybe try the unemployment office in person? everybodys always calling and doing stuff online but i went to the office in queens and got my issue fixed same day. just bring ID and proof of ur new bank account

Question - did you report cash income or was it on the books? Because that makes a difference in how they handle forfeit days and penalties.

i just went through this. ended up with 60 forfeit days for a similar reason 😡 the ONLY thing that helped was getting an actual person on the phone to explain exactly what happened. i used claimyr.com and it was so worth it after weeks of failing to get through. turns out they applied income from the wrong quarter to my claim. still had to serve the days but at least i understand what happened now.

Ugh the NY unemployment system is so outdated and confusing. I swear they make it complicated on purpose to discourage people from claiming. But yeah for your specific question - a weekend trip is fine. I've done it many times.

The real issue isn't where you certify from, it's whether you're truthfully answering if you were ready, willing and able to work each day. If you're on a beach sipping margaritas and wouldn't take a job if offered, that day should be marked as unavailable. But if you're just visiting family and would still take a job/interview, you're good.

hahaha welcome to the wonderful world of NY unemployment where nothing works right and nobody can tell you why! 😂 been on this ride for 7 months now and still missing payments from march.

There's a new Child Tax Credit hotline specifically for unemployment recipients: 833-981-2377. They set it up last month because so many people were having this exact problem. I called and had my issue fixed in one call.