I've been lurking in this community for a while but had to create an account to thank everyone for this thread! I've been dealing with this exact same work search form issue for about a month now and was starting to panic that it would mess up my benefits. Just tried the Edge browser suggestion this morning around 6 AM and WOW - all my entries saved perfectly on the first try! I also took screenshots of everything and downloaded that UI-501WS form just to be safe. It's honestly ridiculous that we have to work around their broken system like this, but I'm just grateful there are solutions. You all are lifesavers! 🙏

Just wanted to add another data point - I've been having this exact same issue for the past 3 weeks! I was using Safari on my Mac and it was driving me absolutely nuts. After reading through all these suggestions, I switched to Chrome and tried entering my work search activities around 6:30 AM this morning. Everything saved perfectly! I also started keeping a backup Excel sheet with all my job application details, dates, and contact info just in case. It's so reassuring to know I'm not the only one dealing with this and that there are actual solutions. The early morning + different browser combo seems to be the key. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and workarounds - this community is amazing! 👍

yeah same thing happened to my cousin, employer said he quit but he was actually fired, took like 2 months to sort out but he eventually got his benefits

I've been through a similar situation and here's what I learned about NYS Department of Labor rules: employers need to prove "willful misconduct" to successfully contest your claim. Being late 3 times in 6 months with advance notice definitely doesn't meet that standard. The fact that they only gave you verbal warnings (no written documentation) actually works in your favor. NYS Department of Labor looks for patterns of deliberate policy violations, not occasional tardiness. Keep all your records showing you called ahead when late - that demonstrates good faith effort. Most contested claims like yours get approved if the employer can't provide solid written evidence of misconduct.

FYI - I got the same thing and it was actually legit. Their system had a major glitch in april that lost a bunch of verification documents. Super annoying but I had to resubmit. Just make sure you do it through the secure portal and not by replying to any email.

I'm dealing with something similar right now! Got laid off from my restaurant job in January, approved in February, been getting payments for about 10 weeks. Then last week I got an email asking me to resend everything to some random gmail address. The email looked pretty official but something felt off - why would they suddenly need verification AGAIN after already paying me for months? Plus like others said, they've never asked for email submissions before, always through the portal. I logged into my actual account and there was no message there asking for documents, which made me even more suspicious. Definitely sounds like the scam everyone's talking about. Thanks for posting this - glad to know I'm not the only one getting these sketchy emails! Going to report it to that fraud email address someone mentioned. This whole situation is so stressful when you're already dealing with being unemployed 😞

NY unemployment is the WORST. I've never dealt with a more incompetent organization in my life. I started getting the "file new claim" thing after certifying for 6 weeks straight. Took me forever to get it fixed.

I'm going through something similar right now. Just certified on Sunday and usually get paid on Wednesday, but nothing showed up. When I log in, it's showing "File New Claim" but also says I certified for this week - makes absolutely no sense! I haven't received any letters or emails about a hearing though. Did you ever find out what triggered the hearing requirement? I'm worried I'm going to be stuck in this limbo for weeks like some of the others here. The inconsistency with different reps giving different answers is so frustrating.

I useto work for DOL (not in NY but similar system). The reason they have brackets instead of exact hours is to make it easier to match employer reporting with employee claims. Most employers report in whole hours only. The safest approach is ALWAYS round up. You might get a few dollars less that week but you won't trigger a fraud investigation.

Just went through this same situation last month! You definitely want to round UP to the 11-16 hours bracket. I made the mistake of rounding down initially and it caused a 4-week delay in my benefits while they "investigated" the discrepancy. The rep I finally spoke to explained that any time worked beyond the exact hour should be reported in the higher bracket. It's better to potentially get slightly reduced benefits for one week than deal with the headache of having your entire claim frozen. The NY system is designed to catch these small inconsistencies, so always err on the side of caution and round up!