Wait, I'm confused about something similar. If I worked one day but forgot to report it on my weekly claim, is that considered an overpayment? I only made like $80 that day but now I'm worried I'll owe money back.

I was in a similar situation a few months ago and decided to proactively contact NYS Department of Labor when I realized I had underreported my part-time earnings. It was definitely nerve-wracking, but the representative I spoke with was actually helpful and appreciative that I came forward voluntarily. They had me submit corrected information and calculated the overpayment amount - ended up being around $900. Since I reported it myself, they waived any potential penalties and just required repayment through monthly deductions from my remaining benefits. My advice would be to contact them sooner rather than later if you're confident you made an error. The longer you wait, the more it might look like you were trying to hide something.

same boat here, employer said I was insubordinate but really I just questioned a safety issue. like isn't that what we're supposed to do?? this whole system is rigged against workers

I went through a misconduct appeal last year and won! The key thing that helped me was getting organized early. Create a timeline of events with dates, save every piece of documentation (emails, texts, employee handbook, any written warnings), and write down exactly what happened from your perspective while it's still fresh. Also check if your employer has an internal grievance process you should follow first - sometimes that's required before the DOL appeal. The hearing officers are actually pretty fair if you come prepared with facts. Don't give up, a lot of these misconduct determinations get overturned when employees actually fight them!

Dont stress too much! Your new job is what matters here. The old job is just being petty tbh

Been through something similar - you should be good as long as you worked enough at the new job to qualify. The most recent separation (your layoff) is what matters for eligibility, not the previous quit. When filling out those forms, be clear about the timeline: quit old job in January for better opportunity, worked new job until laid off in March. Keep it simple and factual. The old employer is probably just trying to avoid their UI tax going up but it shouldn't affect your claim since your qualifying wages came from the new job.

Just make sure you file your claim as soon as possible after losing your job! There's no waiting period in New York but you can't get benefits for any week before you actually file your initial claim. And you have to file weekly claims to continue getting payments even after you're approved.

One thing to add about the "unemployed through no fault of your own" requirement - this also includes certain situations where you quit for "good cause." Things like unsafe working conditions, harassment, significant changes to your job duties or pay, or domestic violence situations can qualify as good cause. So even if you technically quit rather than being laid off, you might still be eligible depending on the circumstances. The NYS DOL will evaluate each case individually to determine if your reason for leaving meets their good cause criteria.

If ur not certifying for a full week that could be why. Like if your benefit week starts on a Monday and you certified from Wednesday-Sunday you'd only get partial payment. Just a thought.

This exact thing happened to me two months ago! Got $180 instead of my usual $360 with zero explanation. Turns out they had flagged my claim for "review" because I had briefly worked a temp job 4 months earlier that somehow triggered their system. The kicker? They never sent any notification about the review or the payment reduction. I only found out when I finally got through to someone after calling for literally 3 weeks straight. The agent said it's becoming super common lately - their system is automatically flagging claims for various reasons and reducing payments without proper notice. Keep trying to get through because mine got resolved once I spoke to an actual person, but it took about a week after that call for payments to return to normal.