Update us on how it goes!! The disability system is SO broken in NY, I swear!!! Maybe your experience will be better than mine was. 🤞

Just went through something similar after a work injury last year. Few quick tips that might help: 1) When you call HR about the DB-450 form, also ask if your company has any short-term disability insurance beyond the state minimum - some employers have better coverage. 2) For the pothole claim, take more photos if you can (showing the size/depth) and maybe measure it if possible. 3) Keep ALL your medical records and receipts - you'll need them for both the disability claim AND any potential lawsuit. The whole process is frustrating but definitely pursue both the state benefits and the municipal claim. Good luck with recovery!

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that earning too much money while collecting benefits can also disqualify you. In New York, if you work part-time while on unemployment, you need to report all earnings. If you earn more than your weekly benefit amount, you won't get any unemployment payment that week. And if you don't report earnings at all, that's considered fraud which can disqualify you permanently. Also, if you move out of state without notifying NYS Department of Labor, that can cause issues with your claim since you need to be available for work in New York.

Another important disqualifier that people often overlook is not maintaining your continuing education or licensing requirements if your profession requires them. For example, if you're a nurse, teacher, or other licensed professional and you let your license expire or don't complete required continuing education while collecting benefits, NYS Department of Labor can consider you "not able to work" and disqualify you. Also, if you're receiving disability benefits or workers' compensation, that typically makes you ineligible for unemployment since those programs indicate you can't work. Make sure you understand how any other benefits you're receiving might interact with your unemployment claim.

Don't forget you also have to do the job search requirements to keep getting benefits! NYS Department of Labor requires 3 job contacts per week and you have to log them in the system. I almost got my benefits suspended because I forgot to update my job search log for a few weeks.

Restaurant work is tough for unemployment calculations because of tips... I had the same issue when my place closed down during the pandemic. Make sure all your tip income was properly reported on your W-2s or it won't count toward your benefit calculation. NYS Department of Labor can only use what was officially reported to them.

I'm in almost the exact same situation - my benefits stopped in early October and I'm owed around $4,100 in back pay. This thread has been incredibly helpful! Based on what everyone's shared, I think I'm going to try a multi-pronged approach: 1) Contact my state assembly rep tomorrow morning, 2) If that doesn't move quickly, use Claimyr to get through to an actual agent, and 3) Send a certified letter to the DOL commissioner as backup. It's reassuring to hear that people are actually getting results with these methods. The regular unemployment phone line has been completely useless for me too - either busy signals or I get disconnected after hours on hold. Will definitely update this thread with my results. Thanks to everyone for sharing what worked for you!

I've been following this thread closely since I'm dealing with the same nightmare - benefits stopped in mid-October and I'm owed about $3,600 in back pay. Reading everyone's experiences has been both frustrating (that we all have to go through this) and hopeful (that there are actual solutions that work). Based on what I'm seeing here, it sounds like the most successful approaches are: 1) Contacting your state assembly rep/senator directly, 2) Using services like Claimyr to get through to actual agents, and 3) Going through the governor's office constituent services. I've been stuck in the regular phone line hell for months - literally called 200+ times with nothing but busy signals or getting disconnected after 2-3 hour holds. It's insane that a system designed to help people during tough times is so completely broken. I'm going to start with my assembly rep tomorrow since @Emily Parker and @Ezra Collins had such quick success with that route. If that doesn't move within a few days, I'll definitely try the Claimyr service that so many people here are recommending. Thanks to everyone for sharing your real experiences - it helps so much to know what actually works vs just spinning our wheels. Will update this thread with my results. Fingers crossed we can all get our money back soon! 🤞

also make sure you apply right away after you quit, don't wait around thinking about it. and when they ask why you quit be very specific about the good cause reasons

Wesley, I went through something very similar about 6 months ago. My manager was creating a hostile work environment and constantly changing my responsibilities without notice. Here's what worked for me: 1) Start documenting EVERYTHING right now - dates, times, what was said/done, any witnesses present. Screenshots of schedule changes, emails, etc. 2) If possible, try to address it in writing first (email to supervisor or HR) so you have a paper trail showing you attempted to resolve it. 3) When you file for unemployment, be very detailed about how the conditions made it impossible to continue working. NYS DOL approved my claim because I could show a pattern of unreasonable treatment that affected my ability to do my job. The documentation was key - without it, it would have just been my word against theirs.