Just make sure you're also meeting your job search requirements even with the part-time work. The NYS Department of Labor still expects you to be actively looking for full-time employment and documenting your search activities.

The whole system is so confusing! I accidentally didn't report some small earnings once and got an overpayment notice months later. Now I'm paranoid about reporting everything correctly.

Hope you get it sorted out soon! I remember that anxiety of waiting for the card when you need the money. Fingers crossed it shows up in your mailbox tomorrow!

I went through this exact same situation a few months ago! Three weeks is definitely too long - my card took about 10 days which was already pushing it. Here's what worked for me: first, double-check your address in the my.ny.gov portal like Paolo mentioned. If that's correct, call KeyBank directly at 1-866-295-2955 early in the morning (like 8 AM) when wait times are shorter. Tell them you never received your initial ReliaCard and need a replacement expedited. They should be able to overnight it to you for free since it's their fault for the delay. Don't let them transfer you back to NYS DOL - KeyBank handles the card replacements once the initial request is made. I know it's stressful when rent is due, but you should have your card within 1-2 business days once you get through to them. Hang in there!

Did they tell you which specific weeks were approved for backpay? I'm worried because my situation involves some weeks where I worked part-time and I'm not sure if they'll calculate it correctly. Should I call them again to make sure they have the right information about my work hours for those weeks? I'm so stressed about them potentially overpaying me and then asking for it back later.

This is really encouraging news! I've been waiting on my NY backpay for about 6 weeks now and haven't heard anything yet. Can I ask what number you faxed your letter to? I've been calling the main line but haven't been told to submit any documentation yet. Maybe I need to be more proactive about asking what they need from me to move my case forward. The waiting is absolutely brutal - I'm behind on rent and bills because of this delay.

Hey OP, don't stress too much. I was super nervous too but the agent I talked to was actually really nice and walked me through everything. You got this!

Just wanted to add - if you get disconnected during the call (which happens sometimes), don't panic! You can call back and they'll be able to see that you already started the process. Also, they might put you on a brief hold while they input information, so don't hang up thinking the call dropped. The whole process took me about 45 minutes when I filed. You're going to do great!

FINAL UPDATE: All the backpay hit my account this morning! Six weeks of benefits all at once. Such a relief after all this stress. Thanks to everyone who provided advice. If anyone else is experiencing this "benefits ended" error, definitely get on the phone with them - it's the only way to get it fixed.

Congrats on getting it resolved! This is such a helpful thread for anyone dealing with similar issues. The fact that this is happening to "quite a few people" due to a recent system update is really concerning though. NY DOL should be proactively notifying people about this bug and fixing it automatically rather than making everyone jump through hoops to get their rightful benefits. For anyone else reading this with the same problem, the key takeaways seem to be: 1. Check your payment history for the specific error code ("Benefit Year Ended" in this case) 2. You MUST speak to a claims specialist - the online system can't fix this 3. Consider using a callback service if you can't get through normally 4. Document everything and request all backpay when it gets resolved Thanks for sharing your experience and updates - it's going to help a lot of people!