I'm in a similar boat at week 19 and this thread is really helpful! Just want to add that I found out you can actually see your exact benefit year end date and remaining weeks when you log into your my.ny.gov account under the "View Benefit Payments" section. It shows both your monetary balance AND your week counter, which cleared up the confusion I had about whether it's the money or the weeks that matter (it's the weeks). Also, for anyone struggling with the phone system, I've had better luck calling right at 8am when they open or during lunch time around 12:30-1pm. Still takes forever but at least I don't get the busy signal immediately.

Just wanted to share my experience since I went through this exact situation last year. Hit my 26 week limit in March 2024 and benefits stopped even though I still had like $800 left in my monetary balance. That was confusing at first but the 26 week rule is firm. After my benefit year ended (the full 52 weeks from when I first filed), I was able to file a new claim since I had worked part-time for a few months and earned enough wages to qualify again. The waiting period for the new claim was shorter than my original application too. Don't panic when you hit week 26 - start planning for other income sources or assistance programs, and keep track of any work you do because it might help you qualify for a new claim later. The job market has been tough but there are resources out there if you know where to look.

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!

The whole unemployment tax thing is so confusing. I thought government benefits weren't supposed to be taxed? Like why do they give you money and then want some back??

Just wanted to add that you can also make estimated quarterly tax payments if you're worried about owing too much at the end of the year. Since you mentioned receiving about $8,000 in benefits, you might owe around $800-1,200 in federal taxes (depending on your tax bracket) plus whatever NY state taxes apply. If you're still collecting, definitely turn on the 10% federal withholding ASAP. And don't stress too much - this catches a lot of people off guard their first time dealing with unemployment taxes!

Just to add - make sure you understand the difference between state unemployment and federal unemployment taxes too. Even if you don't pay state unemployment on yourself, you still might have other tax obligations depending on your business structure and income level.

Great point about federal vs state taxes! As someone who just went through setting up my own LLC last year, I learned this the hard way. Even though I don't pay state unemployment on myself as a single-member LLC, I still had to deal with federal self-employment taxes and quarterly estimated payments. The IRS and NYS Department of Labor have completely different requirements, which adds another layer of confusion. Definitely recommend talking to a tax professional early on to avoid surprises at tax time.

This exact thing happen to me and there was a ERROR in there system. When I finally got through to an agent (used claimyr.com) they fixed it on the spot. Turns out my employer reported my wages but they weren't showing up right in the system. Don't give up!!

Have you tried requesting your wage and benefit statement directly from the unemployment office? Sometimes there are discrepancies between what your employer reported and what shows up in their system. I had a similar issue where my wages weren't properly credited to the right quarters, and it took getting an actual person on the phone to manually review and correct it. Also, make sure they're considering ALL your employment - if you had multiple jobs or worked in different states, sometimes those wages don't get automatically included. The processing status probably means they're still reviewing your case, so don't lose hope yet!