One more thing about school employment and partial unemployment: make sure you're calculating your hours correctly. For teachers and some staff, NYS unemployment sometimes calculates based on your contract hours, not just in-classroom time. Also, if you're paid on a 10-month schedule but it's spread across 12 months, that can affect your benefit calculation. And yes, absolutely call your employer directly about that form. Many don't realize how time-sensitive these are for employees waiting on benefits.

After I got through to NYSDOL using that service I mentioned, the agent told me something important: they sometimes send verification forms even when they aren't strictly necessary for your specific situation. It's part of their fraud prevention, but if your employer is consistently reporting your wages through their quarterly process, you might be able to ask NYSDOL to process your payment while waiting for the verification. Worth asking about if you can get through to someone!

I'm in the middle of appealing one of these too and it's taking FOREVER. Filed my appeal 4 weeks ago and haven't heard anything except an automated email saying they received it. Anyone know how long these appeals are taking to process?

UPDATE: I finally got through to NYSDOL! The rep confirmed this was caused by their system prompting me to reapply early. She said they've been seeing this issue a lot since January and have a special code they're using to fix it. They removed the overpayment from my account and are restoring my original benefit amount! For anyone facing this issue - be persistent in trying to reach them and specifically mention you were prompted to reapply early by the system. Thank you all for your help and advice!

One important thing to check - log into your NY.gov account and make sure there aren't any waiting action items or document requests. Sometimes they'll request additional verification documents through the portal but don't notify you by email or phone. Worth checking every couple of days.

FINAL UPDATE: It finally worked! Got a call today (day 12) from a DOL supervisor who fixed my claim while I was on the phone. She said there was an issue with one of my employers not responding to their verification request, but she manually overrode it after reviewing my paystubs. All payments should be released in 24-48 hours! So for anyone else dealing with this - the governor's office expedite process does work, just takes almost exactly 12 days like someone mentioned above. Thanks everyone for the advice and support!

Can we talk about how they're sending these "important notices" but their website STILL crashes every Sunday when everyone tries to certify?? They need to fix their broken system before adding more requirements. Last Sunday I tried for 3 hours to certify and kept getting error messages!! Anyone else dealing with this garbage?

Just to make sure everyone has the complete information, here's what else was in the email that hasn't been mentioned yet: 1. They're launching a new mobile app in June 2025 for certifications and status checks 2. Direct deposit payments will process 1 day faster (48 hours instead of 72) 3. The monetary determination process is being streamlined from 10 days to 5 days for most claims 4. They're adding Saturday call center hours (8am-2pm) starting in May Overall, while there are some stricter requirements, there are also several improvements to the system that should help claims process faster.

I didn't think of checking online! I'll do that right now. Hopefully there's more information there than what was in the letter.

Just checked and there is some additional info! Looks like they found a discrepancy between the unemployment income reported on my W-2G form versus what the department had on record. Mystery solved! Thanks for the suggestion!