I'm also dealing with a similar caregiving situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Just wanted to add a few more tips from my recent experience with PFL: 1) Make sure to ask your parent's doctor's office about their typical turnaround time for completing forms BEFORE you submit your application. Some offices are backed up for weeks, especially specialists. If they're slow, you might want to start with the primary care doctor instead. 2) Keep copies of absolutely everything - not just the forms you submit, but also emails, confirmation numbers, and any correspondence. I had to resubmit one form that somehow got lost in the system and having copies saved me weeks of delays. 3) If you're planning to take intermittent leave, try to give your employer as much advance notice as possible for scheduled appointments or treatments. It really helps with work coverage and shows good faith that you're trying to minimize disruption. The process really does work, even though it feels overwhelming at first. This community's advice has been spot-on - definitely go with PFL instead of trying unemployment. Wishing everyone dealing with family health issues the best of luck!

As someone who just completed the PFL process successfully about 6 weeks ago for my mom's care, I want to reinforce what everyone here is saying - you absolutely cannot get unemployment benefits during an approved leave of absence, but NY Paid Family Leave is exactly what you need and it really does work! A few things I learned that might help streamline your process: 1) When you meet with HR, ask them to walk through their specific PFL procedures since some companies have additional internal forms beyond the state requirements. 2) If possible, schedule your parent's doctor appointment to complete the medical certification during a time when you can be there to help explain the care situation - doctors sometimes need context about what type of assistance you'll be providing. 3) Consider setting up a dedicated email folder for all PFL correspondence so you can easily find documents if questions come up later. The 3-week timeline people mentioned is pretty accurate, but I found that staying organized and following up proactively (without being annoying) helped keep things moving. The peace of mind of having income during such a stressful family time was invaluable. You're asking all the right questions and getting great advice here - you've got this! Hope your parent's health improves quickly.

Been there! The waiting is the worst part honestly.

I went through a similar appeal for misconduct denial last year - took about 10 weeks total from filing to decision. The key thing that helped my case was having documentation showing the layoff was company-wide, not just me. If you have any emails about the downsizing, company announcements, or even news articles about your employer's financial difficulties, make sure to submit those. Also, if any coworkers were laid off around the same time, their contact info could be useful as witnesses. The hearing officer really focused on whether there was a pattern of layoffs vs. individual termination in my case.

Just to add to all the great info here - make sure you understand the difference between gross and net when calculating your potential benefits. NYS Department of Labor uses your gross wages (before taxes and deductions) from your base period quarters to determine your benefit amount. So if you were making $1,200/week gross but only taking home $900 after taxes, they'll calculate based on that full $1,200. Also, keep in mind that if you do any part-time or temporary work while collecting unemployment, you need to report it on your weekly certification even if it's just a few hours. They'll adjust your benefits accordingly, but failing to report work income can cause major issues with your claim. The system is pretty good at cross-referencing wage records, so it's always better to be upfront about any earnings.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that NYS also has an alternate base period option if you don't qualify using the standard base period. If your recent high-paying job wasn't included in the standard calculation (first 4 of last 5 completed quarters), you can request to use the alternate base period which looks at your last 4 completed quarters instead. This might help if your $1,200/week job was very recent. You'd need to specifically request this when filing your claim or appeal if you're initially denied. It's worth exploring if the standard base period calculation doesn't work in your favor due to timing of when you started the higher-paying position.

I'm going through the same thing right now - been in adjudication for about 10 days and it's nerve-wracking not knowing what's happening. The advice here about continuing to file weekly claims even during adjudication is really helpful, I almost made that mistake too. Has anyone had experience with how they notify you once the adjudication is complete? Do they send an email or do you just have to keep checking the portal?

I went through this exact same thing last month - the uncertainty is the worst part! In my case, adjudication took about 4 weeks total. What helped me was setting up notifications on my phone to check the portal every morning and evening so I wouldn't obsess over it throughout the day. Also, if you haven't already, make sure you have all your employment documentation ready (pay stubs, separation letter, etc.) in case they request anything. The good news is that layoffs due to company downsizing are usually pretty straightforward cases, so you're likely just waiting in the queue rather than dealing with a complicated review.

WEEKLY FILING IS MANDATORY! I can't stress this enough. The NYS Department of Labor system is very strict about this. Miss a week and you'll be dealing with a nightmare of phone calls and delays. Set a reminder on your phone for every Sunday morning.

Just to clarify the timeline for you - you need to certify WEEKLY (every week) but payments are processed BI-WEEKLY (every two weeks). So your routine will be: File week 1 claim → File week 2 claim → Receive payment for both weeks → File week 3 claim → File week 4 claim → Receive payment for weeks 3&4, and so on. The key is never skip a weekly certification even though you're not getting paid every week. Hope this helps clear up the confusion!