My cousin got fired last week from a small agricultural company after questioning why they weren't getting paid overtime. The company was using the farm workers exemption even though that was eliminated by the state back in May. When my cousin brought this up with management and asked for their missing OT pay for the past 3 months (about $1,800 worth), they suddenly got terminated the next day for "performance issues" that were never mentioned before. Looking for anyone who has a direct contact number for NY labor department to report this and file for benefits. The main number keeps putting us in an endless loop of automated messages. Has anyone successfully reached someone at the labor board about wage theft and wrongful termination?

So I've been on unemployment since December 2020 and my claim is expiring in December 2021. Just checked my payment history and it shows I only have 0 effective days remaining after next week. My weekly amount is $182 and I had a maximum payable of $1000. According to my Official Record of Benefit Payment History for my Current Claim, my Start/Effective Date was 12/07/2020 and my Benefit Year Ending Date is 12/12/2021. Looking at my Latest Transaction(s) as of 07/23/2021, I last certified for benefits for the week ending 07/18/2021, and my payment for that week was released on 07/19/2021. I also noticed there's a note saying "Weekly payments for $600 showing "0" under the "Effective Days" column, and Debit Card or Direct Deposit under the "Type" column, are the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) payments." Does anyone know what happens when your days hit zero? Do I need to apply for an extension or something? Will payments just stop? The unemployment site is so confusing and I can't get through on the phone. I'm worried because my Effective Days Remaining shows exactly "o" on my payment history screen, but my benefit year doesn't officially end until December. Is there something I need to do now, or will the system automatically extend me since we're still in the pandemic?

I submitted a forfeit appeal back in November after I got hit with an overpayment notice saying I owe them almost $12,000. The notice claimed I misreported income during April-June 2022 but I swear I reported everything correctly. I submitted my appeal with all my paystubs, tax documents, and a detailed letter explaining why their decision was wrong. It's been over 4 months and I haven't heard a single thing back. No acknowledgment, no updates, nothing. I've called at least 20 times but can never get through to an actual person. Has anyone successfully appealed a forfeit decision? How long did it take? Is there any trick to speed up this process? I'm starting to panic because they're threatening to garnish my wages if I don't pay, but I genuinely don't think I owe this money.

I'm freaking out right now. After collecting unemployment for about 8 weeks, I logged into my account this morning to certify and saw a notice saying all my benefits have been forfeited due to "identity fraud." I never committed any fraud! I've been filing exactly as instructed since I got laid off from my restaurant job in February. They're claiming I need to pay back $3,780 that I already received and used for rent and bills. I've tried calling the NY unemployment office 27 times today but can't get through to anyone. The automated system just disconnects me. I've sent 3 emails through their contact portal but only got generic automated responses. They didn't even send me a letter about this beforehand - just suddenly cut everything off with no warning. How is this possible? Has anyone else had this happen? I'm legitimately myself, have all my documentation, and have been honest on every certification. I can't afford to pay back anything when I'm still unemployed. What should I do?

I checked my unemployment account yesterday and found this weird message I've never seen before. It says something about "potential identity verification needed" and that my payments might be delayed while they review my claim. Been collecting benefits for about 4 months with zero issues until now. Nothing has changed on my end - still doing the same weekly certifications and job search activities. Anyone else run into this recently? The message appeared out of nowhere and I haven't received any emails or letters about needing to verify my identity. My last payment came through normally last week but now I'm worried about next week. Already anxious since I'm using this money for rent and can't afford any delays right now.