Don't let your employer intimidate you! I went through this exact situation 6 months ago when my company did layoffs. They tried to contest my claim saying I was fired for "performance issues" but I had all my performance reviews showing I was meeting expectations. NYS Department of Labor saw right through it during the adjudication process. The whole thing took about 5 weeks instead of the usual 2-3 weeks, but I got approved and even received back pay for the delayed period. Keep all your documentation ready and don't stress too much - if it was truly a layoff, you have strong grounds for approval.

Your employer's threats are just intimidation tactics - they can't actually "deny" your benefits. Only NYS Department of Labor has that authority. What they can do is contest your claim by submitting their version of why you were separated from employment. Since you mentioned it was a layoff, you're in a strong position. The contest just triggers an investigation where both you and your employer provide information. NYS Department of Labor will review everything and make the final decision. Keep filing your weekly claims even during any adjudication process, and like others mentioned, save that layoff email and any other documentation. Most contested layoff cases still result in approval - it just takes a bit longer to process.

I'm dealing with this exact same frustrating situation! Filed my claim about 3 weeks ago, got the approval, but every weekly certification shows $0 for my benefit amount. I know I should qualify for around $300-400 per week based on my previous job. This thread has been incredibly eye-opening - I had no idea there were so many different technical issues that could cause this problem! Between the SSN mismatches, name formatting issues with middle initials, employer wage reporting errors, and incorrect certification answers, it seems like there are dozens of things that can go wrong. I'm going to try a multi-step approach: first verify all my personal info is consistent, then upload my W-2 and recent pay stubs through my.ny.gov, double-check my weekly certification answers, and if none of that works I'll visit a local office with all my documentation. It's really reassuring to see so many people have eventually gotten this resolved, even though the process seems way more complicated than it should be. Thanks to everyone who shared their solutions - this community knowledge is far more helpful than anything I could find on the official NYS DOL website!

I'm experiencing this exact same issue! Filed my claim about 2 weeks ago, got approved, but my weekly benefit amount shows $0 even though I should qualify for benefits based on my previous job earnings. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea there were so many potential causes like SSN mismatches, name formatting discrepancies, employer wage reporting errors, and even simple mistakes on weekly certification questions. I'm planning to start by uploading my W-2 and recent pay stubs through my.ny.gov portal (making sure to include my claim number in the file names as @Ava Thompson suggested), then double-checking that all my personal information is consistent across the system. If the document upload doesn't resolve it within a couple weeks, I'll try visiting a local NYS Department of Labor office with all my paperwork. It's frustrating but reassuring to know that so many people have successfully gotten this issue resolved. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions!

I've been dealing with NYS DOL holiday schedules for over a year now and here's what I've learned: they typically follow a "business day before" rule when your payment day falls on a federal holiday. So if your usual Wednesday payment falls on a holiday, expect it Tuesday instead. However, I've noticed that during certain holidays like Christmas week or New Year's week when there are multiple days off, things can get more complicated. The best strategy I've found is to check your online account on Monday of any holiday week - they usually update the payment schedule by then. Also, don't rely solely on their automated notifications since those can be delayed or missing. One last tip - if you use a credit union or smaller bank, your deposit might actually arrive earlier than usual during holiday weeks because they sometimes process ACH transfers faster when there's less volume in the system.

I've been collecting unemployment benefits from NYS DOL for about a year now, and I've learned to always check their official website the Friday before any holiday week. They usually post specific payment schedule updates there by Friday afternoon. What I've found most helpful is creating a simple calendar reminder for myself to check on Fridays before any federal holiday. Also, if you're really concerned about timing for bill payments, you can call your utility companies and other creditors to explain the situation - most are understanding about unemployment payment delays during holidays and will work with you on due dates. I've had to do this a few times and it's saved me from late fees. The key is being proactive and communicating with them before your payment is actually late.

I went through something really similar last year - got fired from my office job for tardiness issues that were mainly due to my kid's daycare having inconsistent drop-off times. I was terrified about applying for unemployment because I thought attendance problems would automatically disqualify me. But I filed anyway and was completely honest about why I was terminated. I explained the daycare situation in detail and provided some emails I had sent to my boss trying to work out flexible start times. NYS Department of Labor ended up approving my claim after about 2.5 weeks of review. The adjudicator said what helped my case was showing I had tried to find solutions with my employer rather than just being unreliable without cause. My advice is definitely file the claim - the worst case scenario is they say no, but you might be surprised. And like others have said, document everything you can that shows your attendance issues weren't just you being irresponsible.

I actually had a friend who got fired for attendance issues related to public transportation problems and she successfully got her unemployment benefits approved. The key thing she did was gather evidence about the bus route changes and service disruptions - she printed out schedules showing the changes, got a letter from the transit authority confirming the route modifications, and saved all her text messages to her supervisor explaining the situation. NYS Department of Labor seemed to really appreciate that she had tried to communicate proactively with her employer about the transportation challenges rather than just not showing up. When she filed her claim, she was completely upfront about being terminated for attendance but provided all that documentation to show it wasn't willful misconduct. The whole process took about 3 weeks but she got approved. Definitely worth filing the claim and being thorough with your documentation - transportation issues beyond your control can absolutely be considered legitimate circumstances!

Just wanted to add my experience to this thread - I was in the same boat a couple months ago when I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile and forgot to update my number in the system first 🤦‍♂️ One thing that helped me that I haven't seen mentioned yet is to try calling from your OLD phone number if you still have access to it somehow (like if you kept the old phone temporarily or can borrow it from whoever took over your number). Sometimes the system recognizes the incoming caller ID and it can help verify your identity faster when you get through to an agent. Also, if you're planning to call that tech support line 833-910-2469 (which worked great for me too!), try Tuesday-Thursday mornings between 8-9am. Mondays are usually swamped with weekend backlog and Fridays everyone's trying to get stuff done before the weekend. The backup email thing is CRUCIAL - definitely ask for that! It saved me when I had issues later. Good luck everyone, this thread has been super helpful! 💪

Been lurking on this thread for a while and finally created an account to share my experience! Just went through this exact same issue last month after switching from AT&T to Mint Mobile. Reading all these tips really helped me prepare before calling. I ended up using that tech support number 833-910-2469 on a Wednesday around 8:30am and got through in about 40 minutes. Had everything ready - SSN, DOB, old phone number, and even dug up my original claim confirmation email which helped speed things up. The agent was really patient and not only updated my phone number but also set up the email backup contact that everyone's been mentioning. One thing I'd add that helped me - I wrote down a brief explanation of my situation beforehand so I wouldn't fumble around trying to explain it when I finally got connected. Something like "I changed my phone number from XXX-XXX-XXXX to XXX-XXX-XXXX and can no longer receive authentication codes to access my account." Having it written down made the call go much smoother. Also wanted to say thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here - this thread was a lifesaver when I was feeling completely lost! The DOL really needs to get with the times and let people update this stuff online, but at least there are workarounds. Hope this helps someone else! 🙏