One thing to keep in mind is that your benefits might be subject to federal income tax, so that $504/week could be even less take-home depending on your tax situation. You can choose to have 10% withheld for federal taxes when you file your weekly certifications. Also, since you're in finance, you might want to look into whether your company offers any outplacement services - many larger firms do, and that can help with your job search requirements while you're collecting benefits.

Another thing to consider is timing if you do get laid off in January - that's actually a good time to file because your benefit year will run through the end of December, so you'll have the full 26 weeks available if needed. Also, start documenting everything now about your work history and wages. NYS Department of Labor sometimes has issues with their wage records, especially for high earners, so having your own pay stubs and tax documents ready can speed up the process. And don't forget - even though $504 is way less than your current income, it's still something, and every week you delay filing after becoming unemployed is money left on the table since you can't backdate claims.

As someone who's new to unemployment benefits myself, I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here! The transparency theme that keeps coming up is so important. I've been worried about similar things, especially since the whole process feels overwhelming when you're going through it for the first time. It's reassuring to know that the DOL's systems are designed to catch intentional fraud rather than penalize people who are making honest efforts to comply. I think the key takeaway is that if you're documenting everything and reporting accurately on your weekly certifications, the monitoring systems actually work to protect you rather than catch you in some kind of trap. Thanks for all the helpful insights!

I'm going through the exact same worries right now! Been on unemployment for about 6 weeks and constantly second-guessing myself even though I know I'm reporting everything correctly. Reading through everyone's experiences here is so helpful - it sounds like the key really is just staying transparent and documenting everything. I've started keeping screenshots of my weekly certifications just in case I ever need to reference what I reported. It's good to know that their monitoring systems are sophisticated enough to distinguish between people trying to commit fraud and people who are genuinely following the rules. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and advice!

I completely understand the panic you're experiencing right now - I went through an almost identical situation with NYS DOL about 10 months ago involving a $2,500 overpayment from confused reporting while working variable retail hours. The fear of criminal charges was absolutely debilitating, but I want to give you some concrete reassurance: you are not going to jail over this. What I learned through the process is that criminal prosecution requires proving deliberate intent to defraud under NY Penal Law, which is an extremely high legal standard that applies to systematic schemes involving falsified documents or identity theft - not honest confusion about reporting requirements. Your $2,800 overpayment from part-time work reporting mistakes falls squarely into the civil administrative category that NYS DOL handles routinely. The key is responding to their notice promptly and gathering all your documentation from that period - pay stubs, work schedules, any communication about your hours. I successfully appealed mine by clearly explaining where the reporting instructions were confusing and showing my good faith efforts to comply. The hearing officer reduced my overpayment by about 55% after determining it was an honest error. Focus your energy on building your appeal case rather than worrying about criminal consequences that simply won't happen in your situation. You're going to get through this.

I went through this exact situation with NYS DOL about 15 months ago - $2,650 overpayment from reporting confusion during a period when I was working irregular shifts at two different retail locations. The terror about potential criminal charges was consuming every aspect of my life, but I want to share what I learned that completely changed my perspective: criminal prosecution for unemployment fraud in NY targets deliberate, large-scale schemes involving identity theft or systematic deception over extended periods - not workers who made honest mistakes with confusing reporting requirements. What really helped me was understanding that NYS DOL processes thousands of these overpayment cases annually and they have extensive experience distinguishing between genuine confusion and intentional fraud. I gathered all my documentation from that period (pay stubs, work schedules, even photos of confusing scheduler apps my employers used) and submitted a comprehensive appeal explaining exactly where the reporting process was unclear to me. The hearing officer was surprisingly understanding and could clearly see I was a legitimate worker who got confused by overlapping work schedules and unclear reporting instructions. They reduced my overpayment to about $850 and offered a payment plan that worked with my budget. The most important thing I learned is that the anxiety and fear are by far the worst parts of this process - once you start taking concrete steps to address it through proper channels, everything becomes much more manageable. Don't let the intimidating language in their notices paralyze you from taking action. Focus on your documentation, submit your appeal before the deadline, and trust that the system can tell the difference between honest mistakes and intentional fraud. You're going to be okay.

I'm going through this exact same thing right now! Got the "not authorized" message when trying to certify this morning and nearly had a panic attack. Been claiming for about 2 months with zero issues until today. Reading through everyone's experiences here is actually making me feel a bit better - sounds like this is happening to a lot of people lately which suggests it might be a system-wide issue rather than something specific to individual accounts. I'm going to try the incognito browser window trick first since that's the quickest fix, and if that doesn't work I'll call that technical support number (1-888-581-5812) that someone mentioned. Really appreciate everyone sharing their solutions and experiences - this community is a lifesaver when you're dealing with NY unemployment's terrible system! Will definitely update if I figure out what's causing it or find a fix that works.

I'm dealing with the exact same "not authorized" error! Just tried to certify this morning and got completely locked out. Been claiming for about 6 months with zero issues until today. Reading through everyone's experiences here is really helpful - seems like this is happening to a bunch of people recently which makes me think it's probably a system-wide issue rather than individual account problems. I'm going to try the incognito browser window trick first, then call that technical support number (1-888-581-5812) if that doesn't work. The timing is awful since I have bills due this week. Really appreciate everyone sharing their solutions and experiences - this community is such a lifesaver when dealing with NY unemployment's broken system! Will definitely update if I find something that works.

I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago! A "break in claim" basically just means the system flagged that you missed certifying for one or more weeks. Since you only missed one week back in October, this shouldn't mess up your ongoing payments at all. Here's what happened in my case: I got the same scary-sounding "break in claim" message, but when I certified the following week like normal, my payment came through right on schedule. You'll just lose the payment for that one week you missed, but everything else should continue as usual. The key things to remember: - Keep certifying every week going forward without fail - Your Wednesday payment should still come through since you certified yesterday - The break doesn't automatically end your claim or require filing a new one That said, I'd definitely recommend trying to call them when you can just to confirm everything looks good on your account. If you can't get through (which is super common), some people here have had success with that claimyr service, though I personally was able to resolve mine just by continuing to certify normally. Try not to stress too much - the system makes it sound way worse than it actually is!

Hey! I just went through this same exact situation last month. A "break in claim" sounds terrifying but it's really not as bad as it seems. Since you only missed one week back in October, your claim is still active and you should get your payment tomorrow as long as you certified yesterday (which it sounds like you did). The break just means you'll lose that one week's payment from October, but everything else continues normally. I was freaking out when I saw that message too, but my payments resumed right on schedule once I started certifying regularly again. That said, I'd definitely try to get through to an agent if you can - even just to put your mind at ease. The 8am calling strategy some people mentioned actually worked for me, though it took a few tries. If you can't get through, don't panic. Just make absolutely sure you don't miss any more weeks going forward and you should be fine. The NY unemployment system is terrible at explaining things clearly, but missing one week here and there is actually pretty common and the system handles it without ending your entire claim. You've got this!