One thing nobody mentions is that your benefits are taxable income. NYS Department of Labor will send you a 1099-G at tax time. You can choose to have taxes withheld from your weekly payments or pay them later, but don't forget about it come April!

@Fatima Al-Qasimi - I went through this same process a few months ago after being laid off. Here's what I wish I knew from the start: Apply online at labor.ny.gov as soon as possible since there's a waiting week before benefits begin. Make sure you have your Social Security card, driver's license, and employment history for the last 18 months ready. The application asks for detailed info about your previous employers including dates, wages, and reason for separation. Also, set up direct deposit right away - it's much faster than waiting for debit cards or checks. The whole process took about 2 weeks for me to get my first payment after the initial waiting period.

Just to clarify - a protest and an appeal are different processes. A protest challenges the initial determination, while an appeal goes to an administrative law judge if the protest is denied. It sounds like you're still in the protest phase, which is good because those typically resolve faster than appeals.

I'm dealing with the same nightmare right now - filed my protest in December for a wrongful "voluntary quit" determination and still nothing. The worst part is you can't even get a human on the phone to explain what's taking so long. I've tried calling every day for weeks and either get busy signals or sit on hold for 2+ hours just to get disconnected. Has anyone had any luck reaching out to their local assemblywoman's office? I'm wondering if getting a legislative inquiry started might help move things along faster.

I'm in a similar situation - my benefit amount feels completely disconnected from current living costs. What's frustrating is that even if they do review the formula annually, by the time any increase takes effect, inflation has probably already eaten up any gains. Has anyone looked into whether there are any advocacy groups or state legislators pushing for more frequent benefit adjustments? Seems like waiting a full year for any potential changes doesn't make sense when everything else is changing so rapidly.

I've been dealing with the same issue - getting $298/week which doesn't even cover my basic expenses anymore. What's really frustrating is that I worked in tech and was making decent money, but because my layoff happened right after the calculation period cutoff, none of my higher recent wages counted toward my benefit amount. The whole base period system seems outdated when job markets and wages are changing so quickly. I've been supplementing with gig work just to survive, but then you have to be so careful about reporting everything correctly or risk overpayment issues. Really hoping someone in Albany is paying attention to how inadequate these amounts have become.

id.me is GARBAGE. absolute GARBAGE. i had to try 6 times and then finally do the video call option. the worst part was when it finally worked I STILL didnt get a confirmation email lol. but my payment eventually went thru

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Did my ID.me verification yesterday afternoon and it's been radio silence since. No confirmation email, payment still showing as pending, and I'm starting to panic because rent is due Monday. Reading all these responses is actually making me feel way better though - seems like this is super common and most people's payments go through even without the confirmation email. I'm going to try to be patient and wait until Tuesday like everyone's suggesting before I start freaking out and trying to call. Thanks for posting this question because I was feeling like I was the only one dealing with this mess!

NYS unemployment is such a joke man. They operate like its still 1995. ID.me is just one hurdle - theres about 7 more arbitrary roadblocks they'll put in your way before you actually get paid 💯

I went through this exact same thing back in September! After ID.me verification, my account sat "pending" for almost 2 weeks before I finally got fed up and called. The rep told me that even though ID.me shows as complete, there's a separate manual review process that has to happen before they release payments. She was able to push mine through immediately once I got her on the phone - got all my backpay within 3 days after that call. Definitely don't wait around hoping it'll process automatically like I did. The sooner you call, the sooner you'll get your money. I know the phone system is brutal but it's unfortunately the only way to get things moving. Keep certifying weekly in the meantime!