One more important thing - while working on your unemployment appeal, immediately apply for emergency assistance benefits through HRA. You may qualify for emergency cash assistance, SNAP benefits (food stamps), and emergency rental assistance even while your unemployment is under appeal. Many people don't realize these programs exist separately from unemployment insurance. Visit ACCESS HRA online or go to your local HRA office in person - tell them you have a 4-year-old and are facing homelessness, and they should expedite your case. This can provide a financial bridge while your unemployment appeal is being processed.

That's great news about the emergency assistance! Regarding your unemployment appeal, make sure to specifically mention in your appeal that you had two employers and suspect one may not be showing in the system. Request a "wage investigation" as part of your appeal. This triggers a separate process where they contact the employer directly to verify your employment. Also, when providing documentation, include your first and last paystubs from BOTH employers, as this proves the duration of employment clearly. For the LQ-510 code specifically, they're looking at whether you earned at least $3,100 in your base period and worked in at least two calendar quarters. With 18 months of work history, you should easily meet this unless your wages were very low.

I'm in a similar situation and called the NY unemployment help desk about ID.me issues. They told me that even though ID.me is a third-party service, NYSDOL can sometimes override verification issues if you can prove your identity directly to them. The representative suggested sending a secure message through the unemployment portal with clear photos of your identification documents. Include your claimant ID and a brief explanation of the ID.me issues you're having. This worked for me after 3 failed attempts with ID.me. Key point though: Document EVERYTHING. Save screenshots of error messages, note the dates/times you attempted verification, and record any reference numbers from ID.me. This documentation strengthens your case if they question why you couldn't file sooner.

my cousin works at nysdol and says they're getting TONS of id.me complaints lately. apparently there was a system update in October that made it more strict. try checking the NY unemployment twitter or facebook - sometimes they post workarounds when lots of people have the same problem

btw has anyone gotten the letter from irs after getting the deposit? i got money in my acct but no explanation of how they calculated it

Update: I just checked my IRS transcript like someone suggested, and I do see an adjustment scheduled for next week! It's not a huge amount ($286) but definitely better than nothing. Thanks everyone for the help! For anyone else wondering, definitely check your transcript - it showed up there before anywhere else.

Update: My cousin tried calling for hours yesterday with no luck. We're going to try that Claimyr service someone mentioned above tomorrow. They already filed the unemployment claim online but haven't heard anything back yet. The company is now claiming they were fired for "poor performance" even though they've never had a negative review in 3 years. Is there any way to speed up the wage claim process? Every day without income is making things more stressful.

Final update from our experience: Finally got through to NYSDOL using Claimyr - well worth it! The unemployment claim is now being expedited, and a wage investigator has been assigned to the overtime case. They said the sudden "poor performance" claim without documentation is a red flag for retaliation. For anyone else in similar situations - document EVERYTHING, file claims immediately, and expect the employer to come up with excuses. Getting through to a real person makes all the difference in these cases!

My cousin works for unemployment (not in NY) and says their systems are from like the stone age and break all the time lol

For anyone finding this thread later with a similar problem, I want to add that there are specific error codes that sometimes appear with the "exhausted benefits" message. If you see an error code, write it down - it will help representatives identify your specific issue faster if you do need to call. Also, check if the message appears only when you try to certify or if it also appears on your main account dashboard. Sometimes these messages only show in one place but not the other, which is another sign it's likely a display glitch rather than an actual benefits exhaustion.