I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about this exact question. If you need to speak with someone about your specific situation, I found claimyr.com really helpful - they connect you directly to unemployment agents without waiting on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting busy signals.

This happened to my coworker too - she waited almost a month thinking she needed to gather all her employment documents first. By the time she filed, she'd already lost out on about $1,200 in benefits. The key thing to remember is you can always provide additional documentation later if needed, but you can never get back those weeks you didn't file for. NYS makes this really unclear on their website - they should have a big warning that says "FILE IMMEDIATELY" right at the top of the unemployment page.

guys always screenshot ur confirmation number when u certify!! saved me so many times when the system glitched and they tried to say i never certified. if u have the confirmation number they cant deny it.

Just wanted to add for anyone who might find this thread later - if you're ever stuck in a situation like this where the system is down close to your certification deadline, you can also try using the mobile app instead of the website. Sometimes one works when the other doesn't. Also, if you have an active case with unemployment, you can send a secure message through your account (when it's working) documenting the technical issues you experienced. This creates a paper trail that can help if there are any payment delays or disputes later. The system definitely has its problems but there are usually workarounds if you know where to look!

Make sure you're still doing your work search activities even with partial unemployment. NYS Department of Labor still requires you to look for full-time work and keep your job search log updated. Don't let the part-time work make you forget about the other requirements.

I went through this same situation last year! One thing to keep in mind is that your partial benefits might affect your benefit year duration. Since you're still drawing some unemployment, it uses up your benefit weeks, just at a lower amount. So if you were originally eligible for 26 weeks of full benefits, working part-time and getting partial benefits still counts toward those 26 weeks. Just something to factor into your planning while you're looking for full-time work.

I'd reach out through their message portal too, not just by phone. Document that you tried to fix the issue. Screensnap the message so you have proof you self-reported the problem.

I went through something very similar last year. The key thing is to gather all your documentation first - pay stubs, work schedules, anything showing your Saturday shifts. When you do get through to someone, they'll want specific dates and earnings amounts. One thing that helped me was calling right at 8am when they open - you'll still wait but your chances are better than calling later in the day. Also, don't hang up if you get transferred to different departments, that's normal for corrections like this. The good news is that since you're self-reporting and it was an honest mistake about the reporting process (not trying to hide work), they should work with you. They'll likely have you pay back the overpayment amount but without penalties. Keep records of every conversation you have with them too. You're absolutely doing the right thing by trying to fix this before starting your new job in October. Better to deal with it now than have it come back as a bigger problem later!

honestly the whole system is rigged against working people anyway. they want you to stay unemployed but then punish you for trying to get back on your feet. meanwhile it takes them forever to process claims but they can catch you working in no time

I went through this exact situation last year. The key thing to understand is that partial unemployment benefits exist for a reason - you're supposed to report work and they'll calculate what you still qualify for. In my case, I was earning about $300/week part-time and still received around $200 in unemployment benefits. The formula basically allows you to earn up to a certain amount before they start reducing your benefits dollar-for-dollar. As for detection, they caught my friend who didn't report within about 2 months through the quarterly wage matching system. My advice: report it now, even if you missed a week or two. You can often backdate corrections and it's way better than dealing with fraud charges later.