I completely understand the anxiety you're going through - I was in a similar situation a few months ago where I failed to report some gig work income while collecting benefits. After reading through everyone's responses here, I finally worked up the courage to contact NYS Department of Labor proactively. I owed about $3,200 and was terrified they'd pursue criminal charges, but it turned out to be much more manageable than I feared. They classified it as an overpayment, set up a reasonable payment plan, and the agent I spoke with was actually pretty understanding when I explained it was an honest mistake. The relief of finally addressing it head-on was worth the stress of making that initial call. Like others have said, being proactive really does seem to work in your favor - they appreciate when people come forward voluntarily rather than trying to hide it.

Reading through all these experiences has been so helpful - I was in a similar panic mode thinking I was going to end up in handcuffs over unemployment issues. What really stands out from everyone's stories is that the NYS Department of Labor seems to be much more reasonable than the horror stories make them sound, especially when you're dealing with smaller amounts and you approach them proactively. The consistency in everyone's experiences (overpayment vs fraud classification, payment plans, understanding agents) gives me confidence that they're not just trying to ruin people's lives over honest mistakes. For anyone else reading this who's in the same boat - it sounds like the fear and anxiety of avoiding the situation is way worse than actually dealing with it head-on.

File your claim today - don't wait another day! I made the same mistake of overthinking the timing when I got fired for "performance issues" that were really just my manager not liking me. NYS Department of Labor doesn't care about your personal feelings about the termination - they just need to determine if it was misconduct. Since you mentioned it was personality conflicts rather than something like theft or violence, you'll probably be fine after adjudication. The key is getting that claim date locked in ASAP so you don't lose any potential benefit weeks while they sort it out.

File immediately! I just went through this exact same situation last month - got fired for "performance issues" that were really just clashing with my supervisor's management style. I filed my claim the day after termination and I'm so glad I did. The NYS Department of Labor took about 3 weeks to adjudicate my case, but since I filed right away, I didn't lose any potential benefit weeks during that process. They ended up approving me because personality conflicts don't count as misconduct. The worst thing you can do is wait - every day you delay is a potential day of benefits lost. Go to labor.ny.gov right now and get that application started. You've got rent due next week so don't waste any more time second-guessing yourself!

I went through something similar in 2024 and had to appeal my benefit amount. The key thing to check is your base period - it's usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed. So if you filed late in 2024, make sure they're using the right quarters and all your W-2 wages are included. I found out one of my part-time jobs wasn't reporting correctly to NYS Department of Labor. You can request a wage transcript from the department to verify what they have on file versus what you actually earned. Don't give up - you're entitled to the correct amount based on your actual wages.

I had a very similar experience with NYS Department of Labor in 2024! My weekly benefit was also lower than expected and it turned out to be a base period issue. The $420 you're getting does seem low for your income level. One thing that helped me was filing an online inquiry through the NYS DOL website - sometimes it's faster than calling. Also make sure to check if you had any employers who might have been classified as independent contractor work that should have been W-2 wages. The department sometimes misses those or they get reported late. If you do find missing wages, you can request a redetermination and they'll recalculate your benefit amount retroactively. It's definitely worth pursuing since you could be missing out on significant money over the life of your claim.

I've been helping people with ID.me verification issues for months now, and I want to add a few more troubleshooting tips that have worked for others: 1) Try using incognito/private browsing mode - this eliminates any browser extension conflicts, 2) If you're on mobile, make sure your phone's camera lens is clean (sounds obvious but you'd be surprised!), 3) For the selfie part, hold the phone at arm's length and look directly at the camera, not at your image on screen, 4) If you wear contacts, try without them as sometimes the reflection can interfere with facial recognition. Also, Pro tip: If you get through the document scan but fail at facial recognition, don't restart the whole process - you can usually just retry the selfie portion. The verification usually takes 2-3 business days to process once you successfully complete all steps, so factor that into your timeline. Hang in there - almost everyone gets through eventually!

I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now! Been stuck on the facial recognition part for 3 days straight. Reading through all these tips is super helpful - I had no idea about the VPN issue or using a dark surface for the ID scan. Going to try the phone + Safari + natural lighting combo tomorrow morning, and definitely turning off my VPN first. It's so frustrating that such an important process has so many technical glitches, but at least it sounds like most people eventually get through. Thanks everyone for sharing what worked for you - gives me hope I'll figure this out soon!

Hey Miguel - I'm dealing with the exact same thing! Certified Sunday morning around 10am and still nothing in my payment history. This is really stressing me out because I've never had a delay like this before. I called the DOL line about 50 times today and just keep getting the busy signal. Starting to wonder if there's a system-wide issue this week or if something's wrong with my account specifically. Really hoping it shows up tomorrow because I can't afford to miss this payment 😰

I'm having the exact same issue! Certified Sunday afternoon and it's now Tuesday with nothing showing in my payment history. This is really nerve-wracking because I've been collecting since last year and never had a delay this long. I've tried logging out/in, different browsers, even checked on my phone - still nothing. The fact that multiple people are experiencing this makes me think it might be a system-wide glitch rather than individual account issues. Really hoping it's just delayed processing and not something more serious. Has anyone who certified Sunday actually received their payment yet or seen it show up in their history?