Been through this exact situation last year. Key things: 1) Get character references from coworkers if possible 2) Show pattern of good behavior vs isolated incident 3) Challenge their version of events with facts 4) Bring up any procedural violations by the employer (did they follow progressive discipline, etc). Won my appeal after 2 months.

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

Make sure you attend the hearing! I know someone who didn't show up thinking they could just submit paperwork and they lost automatically. The judge needs to hear from you directly about what happened.

Another important tip - if your employer claims you violated a specific policy, ask them to produce the written policy during the hearing. Many employers rely on vague or unwritten "rules" that wouldn't hold up under scrutiny. Also, check if you ever received an employee handbook or signed acknowledgment of the policy they say you violated. The burden is on them to prove you knew about the rule AND willfully violated it. I've seen cases where employers couldn't even produce the policy they claimed was violated.

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.

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.

I had such a hard time reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my eligibility. Kept getting disconnected or put on hold forever. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo showing how it works - https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Might be worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about your specific situation.

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.