I went through something really similar last year - got fired from my office job for tardiness issues that were mainly due to my kid's daycare having inconsistent drop-off times. I was terrified about applying for unemployment because I thought attendance problems would automatically disqualify me. But I filed anyway and was completely honest about why I was terminated. I explained the daycare situation in detail and provided some emails I had sent to my boss trying to work out flexible start times. NYS Department of Labor ended up approving my claim after about 2.5 weeks of review. The adjudicator said what helped my case was showing I had tried to find solutions with my employer rather than just being unreliable without cause. My advice is definitely file the claim - the worst case scenario is they say no, but you might be surprised. And like others have said, document everything you can that shows your attendance issues weren't just you being irresponsible.

I actually had a friend who got fired for attendance issues related to public transportation problems and she successfully got her unemployment benefits approved. The key thing she did was gather evidence about the bus route changes and service disruptions - she printed out schedules showing the changes, got a letter from the transit authority confirming the route modifications, and saved all her text messages to her supervisor explaining the situation. NYS Department of Labor seemed to really appreciate that she had tried to communicate proactively with her employer about the transportation challenges rather than just not showing up. When she filed her claim, she was completely upfront about being terminated for attendance but provided all that documentation to show it wasn't willful misconduct. The whole process took about 3 weeks but she got approved. Definitely worth filing the claim and being thorough with your documentation - transportation issues beyond your control can absolutely be considered legitimate circumstances!

I'm also new to this community and just lost my job two days ago due to company-wide layoffs. This entire thread has been absolutely invaluable - I had no idea that timing was so critical with unemployment filing! I was actually planning to spend this whole weekend researching my options and updating my resume before filing next week, but reading about people losing hundreds or even over $1000 by waiting just days or weeks is honestly terrifying. The consistent message here is crystal clear: file immediately, don't wait! I'm particularly relieved to hear that layoffs due to company downsizing are typically straightforward approvals since that's exactly my situation - our whole department got eliminated due to budget cuts. Going to stop procrastinating and file my claim on ny.gov tonight. Thank you to everyone who shared their real experiences and practical tips about having employment history ready, setting up direct deposit, and avoiding the timeout issues. This community advice is so much more helpful and detailed than anything I found on the official government websites. Time to get this filed before I lose any more potential benefit days!

I'm new to this community and just joined after getting laid off from my customer service job yesterday due to company downsizing. Reading through all these responses has been such an eye-opener! I honestly had no idea that filing timing was so critical - I was planning to take the weekend to decompress and file on Monday, but seeing all these stories about people losing hundreds or even over $1000 by waiting just days is absolutely shocking. The point about benefit years starting when you file rather than when you lose your job is something I never would have known without this thread. My layoff was definitely legitimate - whole call center got shut down due to cost cutting - so it sounds like I should have a straightforward approval process. I'm going to follow everyone's advice and file tonight on ny.gov instead of waiting. Thank you so much to everyone who shared their real experiences here, especially the detailed tips about having employment history organized and setting up direct deposit. This community guidance is infinitely more helpful than trying to navigate the confusing official websites alone. Time to stop overthinking and get this claim filed before I lose any more potential benefit days!

been there! the commute distance thing is real - they can't force you to take a job that requires more than a reasonable commute time or cost

From my experience dealing with NYS DOL, the 80% rule that AstroAce mentioned is correct for the first 10 weeks. But there's also a "prevailing wage" consideration - if similar jobs in your area typically pay much less than what you were making, they might argue that the lower wage is reasonable sooner. For the commute issue, generally anything over 1 hour each way or that costs more than 10% of your gross weekly benefit amount is considered unreasonable. I'd recommend calling your local career center to get clarification on your specific situation - they're usually more helpful than the main unemployment line. Keep detailed records of all job referrals and your responses in case you need to appeal any decisions later.

I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation right now! My payments stopped 3 weeks ago and I also have 0 effective days remaining even though my benefit year doesn't end until January 2022. It's so frustrating because the system gives you no explanation whatsoever. I've been calling nonstop but can't get through to anyone. After reading all these comments about Claimyr, I'm seriously considering trying it - seems like multiple people here have had success with it. The fact that so many legitimate accounts are getting flagged by their "improved" fraud detection system is ridiculous. Thanks for posting this - at least now I know I'm not alone and that it's fixable once you actually reach a human being. Going to keep certifying every week and hopefully get this resolved soon. This whole system is such a mess but hearing that others got their back payments gives me hope!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this - the zero effective days issue is unfortunately becoming really common lately. I went through something similar about 2 months ago where my payments just stopped cold with no explanation. From what I learned talking to a rep (after WEEKS of trying to get through), the "0 effective days remaining" usually means your account got flagged by their automated fraud detection system. It doesn't necessarily mean you did anything wrong - their new system is super sensitive and catches tons of legitimate claims. A few things that helped me: - Keep certifying every single week no matter what (you can get back pay for weeks you certified) - Try calling right at 8am when they open - that's when I finally got through - Consider that Claimyr service everyone's mentioning - I was skeptical at first but honestly after 3 weeks of getting nowhere, it might be worth it The good news is once you actually reach someone who knows what they're doing, they can usually fix it pretty quickly. In my case, they just had to manually review and clear the flag - took about 10 minutes and my payments resumed with back pay. Hang in there! I know it's incredibly stressful when your income just disappears with no explanation, but this is definitely solvable. The system is broken but your situation isn't hopeless.

honestly the whole system is confusing... i tried to apply when i was in school and they kept asking me weird questions about my availability. took forever to get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to explain what they actually wanted

Make sure you're ready to accept work that conflicts with your class schedule if they offer it, because that's what 'able and available' means in practice