I feel your pain! I had the same issue a few months ago and was getting nowhere with the regular phone lines. What finally saved me was contacting my local assemblyperson's office - they have a constituent services department that can sometimes help expedite unemployment issues. I called my assembly member's district office, explained the situation, and they were able to reach out to the DOL on my behalf. Got a call back from a DOL supervisor within 3 days and my payment hold was resolved that same week. You can find your assemblyperson here: https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/ Worth a shot while you're also trying the phone strategies others mentioned. Sometimes going through an elected official's office gets better results than the regular channels. Make sure to mention that your employer is contesting and you need to provide your side of the story about the hour reduction - that shows it's not just a routine inquiry.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - my claim has been pending for 3 weeks after my employer disputed it. Based on all the advice here, I'm going to try a combination approach: calling at 8:05am on Wednesday using the "technical support" option, and if that doesn't work within a few days, I'll contact my assemblyperson's office. For anyone else reading this thread later, it seems like the key strategies are: - Call at off-peak times (8:03-8:05am, Tuesday/Wednesday, or 1:15pm) - Try different menu options ("technical support" vs "claim status") - Use registered phone number - Have all documentation ready - Consider Claimyr service as backup - Contact assemblyperson's office for contested claims Alice, I hope you get through soon - the reduced hours situation should definitely qualify you for benefits under constructive discharge rules once you can explain it to someone. Keep us posted on what works!

I can add some perspective from the employer side - we run background checks through major screening companies and have never seen unemployment benefit information appear in any reports. The screening services simply don't have access to NYS Department of Labor databases for UI claims. What we do see are things like criminal records, employment verification, education verification, and sometimes credit reports (if relevant to the position). Your unemployment history is protected information and stays between you and the state agency. The only time unemployment might come up is if there's an employment gap that raises questions during the interview process, but even then you can simply explain you were between positions without going into specifics about benefits.

I just went through this exact situation a few months ago! Had an 11-month unemployment period and was absolutely panicking about background checks. Turns out all the worry was for nothing - went through three different job application processes with comprehensive background screenings and not one mentioned unemployment benefits. The privacy protections are really solid. What I found most helpful was focusing my energy on preparing for interviews instead of stressing about the background check. I practiced explaining my employment gap in a positive way, highlighting the skills I developed and certifications I earned during that time. One interviewer even said they appreciated my honesty and proactive approach to professional development. Trust everyone here - your UI claim history is safe and you can approach these applications with confidence!

If ur not certifying for a full week that could be why. Like if your benefit week starts on a Monday and you certified from Wednesday-Sunday you'd only get partial payment. Just a thought.

This exact thing happened to me two months ago! Got $180 instead of my usual $360 with zero explanation. Turns out they had flagged my claim for "review" because I had briefly worked a temp job 4 months earlier that somehow triggered their system. The kicker? They never sent any notification about the review or the payment reduction. I only found out when I finally got through to someone after calling for literally 3 weeks straight. The agent said it's becoming super common lately - their system is automatically flagging claims for various reasons and reducing payments without proper notice. Keep trying to get through because mine got resolved once I spoke to an actual person, but it took about a week after that call for payments to return to normal.

Just make sure you file your claim as soon as possible after losing your job! There's no waiting period in New York but you can't get benefits for any week before you actually file your initial claim. And you have to file weekly claims to continue getting payments even after you're approved.

One thing to add about the "unemployed through no fault of your own" requirement - this also includes certain situations where you quit for "good cause." Things like unsafe working conditions, harassment, significant changes to your job duties or pay, or domestic violence situations can qualify as good cause. So even if you technically quit rather than being laid off, you might still be eligible depending on the circumstances. The NYS DOL will evaluate each case individually to determine if your reason for leaving meets their good cause criteria.

What was your original denial reason? That can affect timing too - if it's a simple eligibility issue vs something more complex like misconduct allegations, the process might be different.

I'm going through a similar situation right now - filed my appeal about 7 weeks ago after getting denied for "voluntary quit" even though I was laid off. Still no hearing notice either. From what I've read on the NYS DOL website, they're supposed to send the hearing notice at least 10 days before your scheduled date, so you might still be in the normal timeframe. The uncertainty is definitely the hardest part when you're already stressed about finances. Have you tried creating an online account on the DOL website? Sometimes you can see status updates there before you get anything in the mail.