THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A JOKE! They make you jump through hoops for benefits you've already paid into through payroll taxes. I've been waiting 6 weeks and still stuck in adjudication hell with no explanation. Meanwhile bills keep piling up and they act like we're asking for charity instead of our own money!

also make sure you're doing the work search requirements right from the start. they changed the rules and now you need 3 job contacts per week logged in the system

ugh the whole system is broken!! they deny claims left and right and then wonder why homelessness is rising and families are falling apart. I was denied too for 'insufficient wages' even though I worked full time for 2 years. TOOK FOREVER to get it straightened out and by then I was already behind on everything. The stress alone makes you sick which costs the healthcare system more money

You raise good points about community impact. In my case I'm dealing with standby status because of seasonal work and even that creates uncertainty for planning family expenses. When people don't know if their unemployment will continue, they can't make stable housing or childcare decisions.

If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor to get more details about how the system works, I used claimyr.com recently and it was actually helpful. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was stuck trying to get through to an agent for days about my claim status and this service got me connected in under an hour.

The whole unemployment system is basically employer-funded social insurance. They pay taxes whether anyone files claims or not, just like how you pay car insurance premiums even if you never have an accident. The state pools all those tax payments and uses them to pay benefits when people become unemployed.

This whole situation sounds fishy to me. No legitimate employer pays someone $3 for ANY amount of work. You definitely got scammed and should pursue that wage complaint. Also check if you worked anywhere else during your base period - even small amounts from multiple jobs can add up to meet the minimum requirements.

same thing happened to my cousin but with a different amount, the unemployment office basically laughed at him when he tried to file with such low wages

this is so confusing!!! i'm dealing with the same thing and nobody at NYS Department of Labor could explain it to me when i called. took forever to get through and they just transferred me around

The confusion makes sense because both programs involve government payments for people who can't work their regular jobs. But unemployment is for people temporarily out of work who are looking for new jobs, while SSI is for people who can't work due to disability. You can receive unemployment while applying for disability, but if you get approved for disability, you'll need to report that unemployment income to Social Security.