your supposed to set up direct deposit as soon as u get approved for benefits bro! nobody should be using those trash KeyBank cards in 2023. too late now but for the future: login to ur account > payment method > direct deposit

I feel your pain! I had the exact same issue 3 weeks ago - card suddenly stopped working and I was stuck in automated hell. What finally worked for me was calling 866-295-2955 and when it asks for your card number, just stay silent. Don't press anything, don't speak. After about 45 seconds it will say "I'm having trouble hearing you, let me transfer you to an agent." Boom - straight to a real person. The wait was still about 25 minutes but at least I knew I was in the queue. Turns out they had flagged my card because I used it at two different grocery stores in the same day 🤦‍♀️ Rep fixed it in 5 minutes once I got through. Also definitely look into switching to direct deposit ASAP - I made the change right after that nightmare and it's been smooth sailing since.

I can relate to this anxiety so much! When I first started collecting unemployment benefits, I had similar concerns about my savings account. What helped me was actually calling the NYS DOL directly (though it took forever to get through) and asking this exact question. The representative explained that unemployment benefits are designed to replace lost wages from employment - they're not means-tested based on your assets or savings. As long as you're honestly reporting any work you do (or don't do) on your weekly certifications, your pre-existing savings won't affect your eligibility. The important thing is being truthful about your work status and any income you earn while collecting benefits. Don't let the worry consume you - you're doing everything right by filing your weekly claims properly!

I completely understand your anxiety about this - I went through the exact same worry when I first started collecting! I had about $4,000 in savings from before I lost my job and was terrified they'd think I was somehow cheating the system. But after doing some research and talking to others who've been through this, I learned that unemployment is specifically about replacing lost wages, not about your financial assets. NYS DOL focuses on whether you're working and earning income while collecting, not on money you already had saved up. Your emergency fund and final paycheck money are completely legitimate and won't impact your benefits at all. Just keep filing those weekly claims honestly (sounds like you're already doing great with that) and try not to stress about the savings - you earned that money before unemployment and it's yours to have! The program is designed to help people who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, which sounds exactly like your situation.

I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! Been trying to set up direct deposit for over a month and the system keeps rejecting my routing number even though I've used this same account for everything else including my stimulus payments and tax refunds. What's really frustrating is that I can see other people in the comments mentioning Claimyr - I actually tried them last week and they were able to get me connected to a real person at NYSDOL within about an hour. The agent told me there was some kind of "system flag" on accounts that had previous unemployment claims, and she had to manually override something on their end. My direct deposit finally went through 3 days later! It cost like $20 to use Claimyr but honestly it was worth every penny after wasting weeks trying to fix this myself. For anyone still struggling with this, I'd definitely recommend giving them a shot - their service actually works unlike the broken phone system.

I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now and it's driving me crazy! My routing number works perfectly fine for every other direct deposit I receive, but NY unemployment just keeps rejecting it. I've tried all the basic troubleshooting - different browsers, clearing cache, typing slowly, etc. Nothing works. What's really frustrating is that I can see from all these comments that this is clearly a widespread system issue, not individual user error. It seems like there are so many different potential causes - account flags, regional processing issues, account type restrictions, timing glitches. The fact that there's no clear solution or even acknowledgment from NYSDOL that this is a known problem is just inexcusable. At this point I'm seriously considering the Claimyr option that several people have mentioned since it seems like talking to an actual human is the only way to get this resolved. Has anyone found any other ways to reach a live agent without using a third-party service?

ugh the whole moving thing is such a pain with government benefits... had to deal with this when i moved from westchester to buffalo last year and it took forever to get someone on the phone at NYS Department of Labor to confirm everything was updated correctly

Just want to echo what others have said - moving within NY state doesn't affect your unemployment eligibility at all. I actually work as a benefits counselor and see this question a lot. The key things to remember: 1) File online at my.ny.gov using your current Buffalo address, 2) Have your employment history from your Syracuse job ready, and 3) You don't need to do anything special about the county change. The system is designed to handle intrastate moves seamlessly. Good luck with your claim and the job search in your new city!

If you're having trouble getting through to the right people about PFL or need to speak with someone at NYS Department of Labor about any related questions, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually reach agents by phone. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I used it when I couldn't get through on my own and it was way easier than sitting on hold for hours.

Just wanted to add that you should also check if your employer contributes to New York State Disability Benefits (DBL) - this can provide partial wage replacement for the period when you're physically unable to work due to childbirth (usually around 6-8 weeks). It works alongside PFL, so you might be able to get DBL for the immediate recovery period and then transition to PFL for bonding time. Your employer's HR or payroll department should be able to tell you if they participate in the DBL program.