The whole system is so confusing! I'm terrified of making a mistake and having to pay back benefits. Why can't they just give clear guidelines on their website?

For freelance work specifically, @Mei Wong, you'll want to track your hours carefully since freelance doesn't fit neatly into the "4 days" rule. What matters most is your total weekly earnings compared to your benefit amount. I've been doing freelance graphic design while on unemployment and I report every project - even if it's just 2 hours on a Tuesday. The NYS DOL counts any day you do ANY work as a "work day" regardless of hours, so if you freelance across 5 different days in a week (even just 1 hour each day), that could affect your benefits more than doing 20 hours all in one day. Keep detailed records with dates, hours, and earnings for each project.

I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! Just had a forfeit week appear on my payment history this week and I was absolutely losing my mind about it until I found this thread. Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a lifesaver - I had no idea these forfeit situations were so common and actually fixable! From what I can piece together, I think my issue might be similar to what others described - I had some really confusing work schedules last month with shifts that spanned across different weeks, and I'm pretty sure I reported income for the wrong certification period. The determination notice I found buried in my online account just says "payment adjustment required" but gives zero helpful details. I've already started following the game plan everyone's outlined here - gathering all my pay stubs, creating a detailed timeline of when I actually worked vs what I reported, and planning to call first thing Monday morning to get that specific reason code everyone keeps mentioning. The stress of potentially losing future payments was keeping me up at night, but knowing from this thread that I can keep certifying normally while an appeal gets processed is such a huge relief! And seeing so many success stories about people getting their forfeit weeks reversed and receiving back payments gives me so much hope. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is incredible for helping navigate these confusing bureaucratic situations. Definitely feeling way more prepared to tackle this now! 🙏

I'm currently going through this exact same situation and this entire thread has been such a lifesaver! Just discovered a forfeit week on my payment history yesterday and was completely spiraling until I found all these detailed responses from people who've been through the same thing. Based on everything I'm reading here, it sounds like forfeit weeks are usually caused by income reporting mix-ups during certification - which is probably what happened to me too. I had some irregular part-time hours last month that overlapped different certification periods and I'm pretty sure I got confused about which week to report them under. Already found a determination notice buried in my online account under "Correspondence" (had to dig for it!) but it just says "reporting discrepancy" without any real specifics. Following everyone's advice here, I'm going to: 1. Organize all my pay stubs and create that detailed timeline everyone keeps mentioning 2. Call first thing tomorrow morning and ask for the specific reason code 3. Have all my documentation ready to explain exactly what happened The stress about this potentially affecting future payments was keeping me up all night, but reading that you can keep certifying normally while an appeal processes is such a huge relief! And seeing so many success stories about people getting their forfeit weeks reversed gives me actual hope this can be fixed. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is amazing for helping navigate these bureaucratic nightmares. Definitely feeling way more prepared to tackle this now instead of just panicking! 🙏

Also remember you'll need to file weekly claims and meet job search requirements. NYS Department of Labor requires 3 job contacts per week minimum, and you need to keep detailed records in case they audit your job search log. Don't forget about the waiting week either - your first week won't be paid.

Just want to add that if you've had multiple jobs or income changes throughout the year, the quarter-based calculation can work in your favor. NYS DOL looks at your highest earning quarter, so if you had a period where you made more than $900/week (overtime, bonus quarters, etc.), that could boost your benefit calculation. Also worth noting that the $504 maximum gets adjusted annually for inflation, so it might be slightly different by the time you actually need to file. The base period can be tricky to understand - it's not your most recent quarters, but the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file your claim.

Just wanted to jump in here as someone who's been dealing with NYDOL for a while - this maiden name issue is super common! A few things to try: 1) Check if your mom ever went by a nickname version of her maiden name vs the full legal name (like "Liz" vs "Elizabeth"), 2) Some people's mothers had their maiden name legally changed at some point due to adoption or other family circumstances, 3) Try logging out completely, clearing your browser cookies, and logging back in - sometimes the system gets stuck on cached data. I've seen people spend weeks on this only to find out they needed to use their grandmother's maiden name instead because of some old family adoption paperwork. The system is definitely frustrating but don't give up! 💪

I had a similar issue and what solved it for me was realizing that the system was case-sensitive AND picky about spaces. I was entering "De La Cruz" but it wanted "DELACRUZ" - no spaces, all caps. Also, double-check if your mom's maiden name has any unusual spellings that might differ from the phonetic version. Some names have silent letters or alternative spellings that we don't think about in everyday conversation. Try entering it exactly as it appears on official documents like her birth certificate or marriage license. The system is super literal about matching what's in their database. Good luck! 🍀

Same boat here! Started collecting in January and wasn't sure about the job search thing either. Glad someone asked this question because I was worried I was missing something important.

Just to add some clarity on what counts as valid work search activities - I went through this last year. Besides job applications, you can also count things like attending virtual career workshops, registering with temp agencies, creating profiles on job boards like Indeed or ZipRecruiter, and even informational interviews. The key is to keep good records with dates and details. I use a simple spreadsheet to track everything. Also, if you're having trouble finding 3 activities per week in your specific field, you can broaden your search to related fields or consider remote opportunities. The DOL understands that some industries have limited openings, but they want to see genuine effort.