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Yes, NY offers temporary disability benefits through NYS Disability Insurance for short-term conditions. If his doctor expects he'll return to work in a few months, this might be a better fit. The benefit amount is different from unemployment though - 50% of his average weekly wage up to a maximum of $1,147 per week in 2025. His doctor would need to complete part of the application. He can potentially transition to unemployment later when he's able to work but hasn't found a job yet.
Important update for you: If your brother's cancer qualifies as a serious medical condition under NY law, he might also be eligible for NY Paid Family & Medical Leave, which typically provides higher benefits than basic disability. The maximum weekly benefit is $1,482 in 2025. His doctor would need to certify his condition, but it's worth exploring both options to see which provides better benefits in his situation.
Thank you all SO much for these suggestions! I had no idea there were these other options. I'm going to call NYSDOL tomorrow using that Claimyr service to fix the unemployment application errors, but I'll also look into both disability and the Paid Family & Medical Leave tonight. I really appreciate everyone's help!
Not sure if this helps but my brother had the same problem last month and he ended up going to the public library to use their computers to file his claim. Most libraries have free computer access if your phone doesn't work out!
Quick update from my earlier post - I just remembered that when I finally talked to an agent, she told me that June 2025 has been CRAZY busy for them because they switched to a new payment processing system earlier this month. She said tons of legitimate payments were getting flagged for extra verification because of the system transition. Maybe that's what happened to yours too?
This is accurate information. NYSDOL migrated to the new UIPAY system on June 1, 2025. The transition has caused numerous verification flags on existing claims as the system applies new validation rules to established payments. If your payments stopped right at the beginning of June, this is almost certainly the cause. Unfortunately, these system-generated holds do require agent intervention to clear, even though they're not related to any actual eligibility issues with your claim.
UPDATE: Finally got through today! I used the Claimyr service that someone recommended above and got connected to an agent in about 35 minutes (after spending weeks trying on my own with no success). Turns out my payments were on hold because of that exact system migration issue someone mentioned! The agent could see all three of my certifications were pending in the system, and she manually released them. She said the funds should be in my account within 2-3 business days and apologized for the stress it caused. Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions! That new system migration apparently affected thousands of people but they didn't communicate it clearly to anyone.
awesome!! so glad u got it fixed! the unemployment system is such a mess but at least ur getting ur money now
Great news! For anyone else reading this thread with similar issues: if your payments stopped in early June 2025, it's likely related to the UIPAY system migration. While frustrating, these holds are typically resolved quickly once you reach an agent. Your eligibility isn't actually in question - it's purely a technical validation issue with the new system.
my cousin said he got a real stimulus from ny unemployment last year but it was only like $600 not thousands... maybe ur thinking of that?
Ryan Kim
my sister just got an overpayment notice 2 days ago too! might be a system glitch if lots of people are getting them suddenly??
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Chloe Delgado
•While system glitches can happen, it's unlikely that multiple overpayment determinations are errors if they're for different reasons. Each case is typically reviewed individually. Your sister should check her specific reason for overpayment - it's likely different from the vacation pay issue discussed here.
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Liam O'Reilly
UPDATE: I managed to get through to someone at NYSDOL this morning! Used that Claimyr service someone recommended and it worked great. The agent confirmed it was because of my vacation payout ($1,890) that I got after being laid off. I didn't realize I needed to report that as income for that week. They're going to adjust my claim and said I should only owe back about 2 weeks worth of benefits instead of everything. Still sucks but way better than I feared. Thanks everyone for your help!!!
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Jacob Lee
•That's great news! Glad you got it sorted out. At least now you know exactly what happened and can move forward. Did they say how long it will take for your regular payments to resume?
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Liam O'Reilly
•They said I should be able to claim normally next week and payments should process as usual after that. They're just deducting a small amount each week to repay the overpayment. Much better than I expected!
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