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This is going to sound weird but try calling RIGHT when they open and press the Spanish option. The Spanish-speaking agents all speak English too and the wait time is usually WAY shorter. Got through in 15 mins this way after trying the English line for weeks.
Can confirm this works but don't tell everyone or they'll catch on and it'll stop working lol 🤫
Haha sorry for spilling the secrets! Just trying to help a fellow sufferer of the NY unemployment hellscape 😂
has anyone tried going to the actual unemployment office in person? wondering if thats faster than calling?
They dont really have public offices anymore where u can just walk in. everything is phone or online now. its stupid.
Make sure you get identity theft protection ASAP! These scammers usually don't stop at just unemployment - they'll try to open credit cards, loans, everything. I recommend LifeLock or similar service. I learned this the hard way after my unemployment was hacked and then suddenly I had 3 new credit cards opened in my name the next month.
Oh god, that's terrifying. I'll look into that right away.
That stupid message confused me too! Yes, you should certify for that final week if you're still unemployed during Dec 12-18. That's literally what they mean by "last week to certify" - it's the final week the program exists.
Wow the timing of this post is crazy, I just dealt with this exact issue yesterday. Yes, certify for the final week. That's what they're telling you - that you have one last week to claim benefits before the program ends completely. After that, you'd need to qualify for regular UI which has different eligibility requirements.
Worked just like normal! The system let me certify without any issues. Payment should come through on the usual schedule.
So I've been dealing with unemployment systems across multiple states for my job (HR consultant). NY is by far the worst implementation of ID.me I've seen. Here's what's actually happening: the identity verification process in ID.me works, but the handshake back to NYSDOL fails because their systems don't properly capture the verification token. It's a technical issue they're aware of but haven't prioritized fixing.
That makes so much sense. Is there any way to force the handshake to work? Or is it just luck?
Mostly luck with the website. Your best bet is honestly to talk to a rep who can manually verify and override the system. That's what I tell all my clients to do.
dont waste ur time with the website tbh. its been broken for months. just call them directly and file by phone. i know the hold times are ridiculous but use claimyr.com to handle the waiting for you. i did this after wasting 2 weeks on the website nightmare.
second this! filing by phone skips all the id.me nonsense entirely
Aisha Hussain
look on the bright side - at least your case is CLOSED. mine has been "under review" for 4 months with no updates. consider yourself lucky! 😒
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Ava Thompson
•True, that does sound worse. Hope yours gets resolved soon!
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Ethan Clark
If u have a state representative or assemblyperson, sometimes their offices can help speed things up if you don't get your letter in a reasonable time. They have special contacts at unemployment that regular ppl don't have access to. Worked for me last year when I was in limbo for 2 months.
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