I'm currently on day 5 of business days waiting for my employer to respond, so I'm a bit behind some of you but definitely following this thread closely! I was also laid off from a restaurant (pizza place) when they had to reduce staff due to slower sales after the holidays. Reading everyone's experiences is giving me so much confidence that these restaurant layoffs are pretty straightforward once that 10-day deadline hits. I've been doing my weekly certifications consistently after seeing how crucial that is for backpay. The waiting and financial uncertainty is definitely stressful, but it's incredibly helpful to see so many people in similar situations who ended up getting approved. Thanks to everyone for sharing their timelines - it really helps to know what to expect and that I'm not alone in this process!

I'm currently at day 11 of business days waiting for my employer response after being laid off from my serving job at a family restaurant. The owner had to let go of half the staff because business dropped off significantly after the new year. Reading through all these experiences has been incredibly reassuring - it really seems like restaurant layoffs are some of the most straightforward cases for approval once that 10-day employer deadline passes. I've been religiously doing my weekly certifications after seeing how many people emphasized that for getting full backpay. The financial stress while waiting is no joke, especially when rent is due, but this community has given me so much hope that legitimate layoffs like ours typically get resolved in our favor. It's amazing to see so many people at different stages of this same process - really makes you feel less alone when you're anxiously checking your claim status every morning!

OMG thank you @The Boss for that update!! 🙌 I've been checking this thread obsessively for weeks and your success story just made my day. Filed 4/17 so I'm right behind you timeline-wise. Getting that $0 determination letter was so confusing and scary - I thought maybe I wasn't eligible or messed something up. But hearing that it's just the wage verification process and that you got $405/week plus all that back pay gives me so much relief! Definitely ordering claimyr today, seems like that's the key to actually talking to someone. Can't wait to update everyone here when my benefits finally come through. This community has been a lifesaver during this stressful waiting period! 💙

Just went through this exact same thing! Filed 3/28 and got the dreaded $0 determination letter that had me panicking for weeks. Finally got through using claimyr (yes it's legit and worth every penny) and the agent explained it's totally normal - they show $0 while waiting for employer wage verification. Took about 7 weeks total but once my employer finally sent the info, my benefits updated within 3 days and I got all my back pay dating to my original filing date. The key things: keep certifying every single week even with $0 showing, check your messages daily, and don't panic! The system is just super slow but you WILL get your money eventually. Hang in there! 💪

I just went through this exact same thing two weeks ago! Had 58 days left when my benefit year ended on 6/15/2025. The system kept letting me certify and I was so confused about what to do. After reading horror stories online about people getting hit with overpayments, I decided to be super cautious and filed a new claim right away. The new claim got approved within about 10 days, and my weekly benefit amount actually went up slightly because of the part-time work I did during my previous benefit year. The key thing is I stopped certifying on the old claim as soon as I filed the new one - didn't want to risk any overlap issues. One tip: when you file the new claim, there's a question that asks why you're filing. Make sure to select something like "benefit year ended" rather than "new job loss" so they process it correctly. The whole thing was way less scary than I thought it would be once I actually did it!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share what happened to me in a similar situation. My benefit year ended in May 2024 and I had about 50 days remaining. Like many others here, the system kept letting me certify for weeks after my benefit year ended. I made the mistake of continuing to certify for about a month thinking the system knew what it was doing. Big mistake! I eventually got an overpayment notice for $2,100 and had to set up a payment plan. The appeals process was a nightmare and took months. What I learned: The system has a known glitch where it doesn't immediately stop you from certifying when your benefit year ends. This is NOT the same as being eligible for an extension. Always file a new claim as soon as your benefit year ends, regardless of remaining balance. For Paolo and anyone else in this situation - stop certifying on the old claim immediately and file a new one. Document everything and keep records of when you filed the new claim. Don't make the same expensive mistake I did!

I just went through the partial unemployment application process with NYS Department of Labor a few months ago when my retail hours got cut. Here's what I learned: You apply the same way as regular unemployment, but when you file your weekly claims you'll report your part-time earnings. The system automatically calculates your partial benefit. One thing that confused me at first - you report your gross earnings (before taxes) for the week you actually worked, not when you got paid. So if you worked Monday-Friday but didn't get your paycheck until the following week, you still report those earnings for the week you worked. Also keep all your pay stubs because they may ask for documentation later. The online system at my.ny.gov can be glitchy but it's usually better than trying to call. Good luck!

I'm in a similar situation - my hours got reduced at my restaurant job and I'm trying to figure out the partial unemployment process. From what I've gathered reading through these comments, it sounds like the key things are: 1) Apply for regular unemployment first to establish your weekly benefit amount, 2) Report your part-time earnings accurately each week when you file claims, 3) You can earn up to your weekly benefit amount plus $50 before losing all benefits, and 4) The job search requirements are more relaxed since you're already working. @Omar Farouk thanks for the tip about reporting earnings for the week worked vs. when paid - that's exactly the kind of detail that would trip me up! Has anyone here had experience with how long the initial application process takes for partial benefits compared to regular unemployment?

I went through this exact same confusion when I filed my claim earlier this year! What really helped me was gathering all my pay stubs and calculating my total earnings for each quarter, not worrying about the specific hours. I had weeks where I worked 20 hours and others where I worked 45, but as long as your total wages meet those thresholds Giovanni mentioned ($2,600 in highest quarter), you should be good. Also, don't forget that the system will ask for employer contact info, so having those details ready will make the application process smoother. The varying schedule actually worked in my favor since some of those higher-hour weeks boosted my quarterly totals.

I'm going through something similar right now - filed my claim two weeks ago with a work history that looked like a roller coaster! Some weeks 25 hours, others 42, depending on client needs at my old job. The good news is what everyone's saying here is accurate - it really is about your total earnings, not the specific weekly hours. When I was filling out the application, I was stressed about explaining the irregular schedule, but the system mainly wanted to know my start/end dates and total wages from each employer. One tip: if you have direct deposit records or bank statements showing your paychecks, those can be helpful backup documentation in case there are any discrepancies with what employers report. The wage verification process took about a week for me, and my varying hours didn't cause any issues at all.