UPDATE: My payment just hit my account! So it was definitely just the holiday delay. Thanks everyone for the help and reassurance!

Same thing happened to me last holiday weekend - was stressed for nothing! For anyone new to this, it's worth bookmarking the NYSDOL website calendar that shows processing delays for holidays. They don't always advertise it well but the info is there if you know where to look. Glad everyone's payments are coming through!

Just wanted to say good luck with your appeal. The whole unemployment system is such a nightmare to navigate. At least with the hour reduction you have a clear cut case - that's definitely good cause for quitting in NY.

I went through a similar appeal process last year and won! A few additional tips that helped me: 1) Include a timeline of events with specific dates (when hours were reduced, when you gave notice, etc.) 2) If you have any written communication with your employer about the hour reduction, include copies 3) Calculate and mention the percentage reduction in hours - going from full-time to under 10 hours is usually a 70%+ reduction which clearly shows substantial change in employment terms 4) Don't forget to mention if the hour reduction affected your eligibility for benefits like health insurance. The hearing officer really focused on the substantial change aspect in my case. Stay organized and factual - you've got a strong case here!

I'm on week 23 of my benefits and getting really nervous about what happens when I hit 26 weeks. Are there any other programs I can apply for after regular unemployment runs out?

THE 26 WEEK LIMIT IS RIDICULOUS!!! I've been paying into this system for 15 years and they give you barely 6 months of help. Other countries give way more unemployment support than this.

Great advice everyone! I'm in a similar situation and was also confused by the wording. Just to add - I found it helpful to keep a weekly log of my work hours and gross pay before I certify each week. That way I don't have to scramble to remember exactly what I earned when I'm filling out the certification. Also, if anyone else is working multiple part-time jobs, make sure to report ALL of your earnings from ALL jobs for that week, not just from one employer. The system calculates your partial benefits based on your total weekly earnings.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm actually in the exact same boat - just started a part-time retail job (22 hours/week) and was completely confused about the certification process. The way everyone explained the difference between "returning to work" (full-time) vs "working during the week" (part-time) finally makes it click. I've been stressing about this for two weeks! One additional tip I discovered - if you're unsure about any of your previous certifications, you can actually view your certification history in your NY.gov account under "View Payment History." It shows exactly how you answered each question and what earnings you reported. This helped me double-check that I'd been doing it correctly. Also, for anyone else who might be starting part-time work soon, I found it helpful to call your new employer ahead of time to understand exactly when and how they report your hours - some places are better than others at providing clear paystubs that show your gross earnings before deductions. Thanks again to everyone who shared their experiences here - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that's impossible to find on the official NYSDOL website!

Wow, reading through all these responses really shows how broken the NY unemployment system is. I'm dealing with something similar - ID.me verified me back in June and I'm still stuck in "pending" hell. It's insane that we all have to become experts in navigating bureaucracy just to get benefits we've paid into. From what everyone's saying, it sounds like the ID.me verification is just step one, and there can be multiple invisible holds on your account that only phone reps can see. Since you got that email about potential identity theft, you probably have a fraud flag that needs manual review. I'm definitely going to try that claimyr service everyone keeps mentioning - seems like it's worth the cost if it actually gets you through to a human. Also had no idea about contacting state senators until reading this thread. OP, don't give up! The system wants us to quit but we're entitled to these benefits. Keep certifying weekly and try every avenue people have suggested. This thread has been more helpful than months of trying to navigate the DOL website. We're all in this together!

This whole thread is incredibly eye-opening and frustrating at the same time. I'm a newcomer here but going through something very similar - ID.me verified me back in early August and I'm still stuck in that "pending" status with zero communication from DOL. Reading everyone's experiences makes it clear this isn't just bad luck, it's a systematically broken system designed to wear us down. What really gets me is that we're all having to crowdsource solutions to access benefits we've literally paid into through our paychecks. The fact that ID.me verification is apparently just the first step, and there can be multiple invisible holds that only phone reps can see, is absolutely ridiculous. No wonder so many people give up. I'm definitely going to try the claimyr service and contact my state senator based on all the success stories here. It's wild that these "hacks" aren't officially communicated anywhere. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share detailed advice - this thread has been more helpful than months of trying to navigate the DOL website on my own. OP, I really hope you get this resolved soon. The eviction threat adds such unnecessary stress to an already impossible situation. Keep fighting - we're all rooting for you!