Just apply and see what happens. Worst case they say no and you appeal. I've been through this process twice and honestly you never know how it'll go until you try.

@Fiona Sand definitely include those doctor's notes when filing! Medical absences with proper documentation are usually not considered willful misconduct. When you file online or over the phone, there's usually a section where you can explain the circumstances of your termination - mention that you had legitimate medical reasons with documentation. NYS Department of Labor needs to see the full picture from the start. Also keep copies of everything including any communication with your supervisor about the absences.

File immediately! Even if there's going to be an investigation, you want to get your claim date established. I waited too long when I got fired and lost out on like $800 because the benefits don't backdate to before you actually file.

Don't let the "performance issues" label scare you away from filing. I work in HR and see this all the time - employers often use vague terms like that to avoid unemployment liability, but it rarely holds up with the Department of Labor unless there's documented willful misconduct. The fact that you were caring for a sick child and had no prior written warnings actually works in your favor. NY has strong protections for family care situations. File your claim today and be honest about everything - both the performance issues they cited AND the family care absences. The DOL investigators are pretty good at seeing through employer BS when there's no real documentation of misconduct.

omg yes get that fixed!! I worked somewhere that did this by accident for like 6 months before anyone noticed

Definitely sounds like a payroll error! As others mentioned, FUTA is entirely the employer's responsibility - you should never see it deducted from your paycheck. In New York, employees don't pay into unemployment insurance at all, unlike some other states. I'd recommend bringing your pay stub to HR right away and asking them to explain the deduction. They'll likely need to correct it and reimburse you for any amounts already taken. Also keep documentation of this in case you need to reference it later when dealing with NYS Department of Labor for any unemployment benefits.

I feel your pain on this ID.me verification nightmare! I went through the exact same thing - multiple failed attempts, endless waiting rooms, technical glitches. After reading through all these responses, it's clear the system is fundamentally broken and we all need workarounds. Here's what I learned from my own experience and what others have shared: 1) Contact your state senator/assembly member FIRST - this seems to have the highest success rate and they deal with these issues constantly, 2) If you need to speed things up, try the Claimyr service that multiple people vouched for to actually get through to a human at unemployment, 3) Keep a paper trail of everything and continue certifying weekly no matter what, 4) If all else fails, visit a DOL career center in person with physical documents. The most important thing is DON'T GIVE UP - your backpay will come through once this gets sorted. The system is designed to be frustrating but there are ways around it. Stay strong and keep fighting for what you're entitled to!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! ID.me has been a complete disaster for me too - tried 4 times and each attempt has some new problem. First time the camera wouldn't work, second time it said my documents were "unclear" even though they're perfectly fine, third time I got disconnected during the video call, and fourth time I'm still sitting in a queue that says "estimated wait time 2+ hours" from yesterday. This is so stressful when you're already struggling financially and just need your benefits to pay basic bills. Reading all these responses is actually really helpful though - I had no idea there were alternatives to ID.me! I'm definitely going to try contacting my state representative first since multiple people said that worked fast. Also going to look into that Claimyr service if the rep route doesn't pan out quickly. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and solutions - it's good to know we're not alone in this mess and that there are actually ways to get around their broken verification system!

I had a similar issue where my NYS Department of Labor benefits suddenly dropped by about $70. It turned out they had automatically enrolled me in federal tax withholding even though I had originally opted out. Check your payment details on my.ny.gov - look for a line item showing "Federal Tax" or "State Tax" being deducted. If that's what happened, you can change your tax withholding preferences by logging into your account and updating your payment options. The $74 difference between your old and new payment amount is roughly what you'd expect from 20% tax withholding. Also check your inbox on the unemployment portal for any notices about tax election changes - sometimes they send notifications there instead of mailing them.

I work for an unemployment advocacy group and see this issue frequently with NYS Department of Labor claims. The sudden $74 reduction strongly suggests automatic tax withholding enrollment. New York has been automatically enrolling claimants in federal tax withholding (usually 10-20%) if they detect certain triggers in your claim or if there are federal tax compliance requirements. Log into my.ny.gov and look under "Payment Method" or "Tax Information" - you should see if federal taxes are now being withheld. You can usually change this back if you prefer to handle taxes yourself at year-end. If it's not tax withholding, the other common cause is a wage recalculation where they discovered additional or corrected wage information that changed your weekly benefit rate calculation.