The whole system is a joke honestly. They make you wait weeks while you're struggling to pay bills and then act like they're doing you a favor. I've been waiting 3 weeks and still nothing. Meanwhile my landlord doesn't care that NYS Department of Labor is slow.

I'm going through the same thing right now - filed my claim about 10 days ago and the waiting is nerve-wracking! What helped me was calling the customer service line early in the morning (like right at 8am when they open) - I actually got through after about 45 minutes on hold. The rep told me that as long as I keep filing my weekly claims and there are no red flags, I should expect to hear something within the next week or two. She also mentioned that the first payment usually comes about a week after you get your approval letter. Definitely keep an eye on your my.ny.gov account for any status updates. We're all in this together!

Keep EVERYTHING until your claim is completely closed and then add 3 years on top of that. Trust me on this one - I got hit with an overpayment notice 2.5 years after my claim ended and having all my documentation saved my butt. They wanted proof of my job search activities from specific weeks and if I hadn't kept my logs they would have assumed I wasn't looking for work.

I work as a filing clerk at a law office and we deal with government document retention all the time. The 3-year rule mentioned here is correct - NYS Department of Labor follows standard administrative law timelines. I'd also suggest keeping a simple spreadsheet or log noting what documents you have and the dates. That way if you ever need to locate something specific, you don't have to dig through everything. Also, if you do go digital, make sure your scans are clear and legible - blurry photos won't help you if there's ever a dispute.

In 2023 and we're still dealing with these ancient verification systems smdh. last year i got locked out cuz i couldn't remember which previous employer they wanted me to verify (i had 3 jobs in 2022). took 4 calls to fix.

This is so infuriating! I'm dealing with the exact same thing right now - got locked out after the system rejected my mother's maiden name THREE times even though I know it's correct. Been without benefits for 2 months now and I'm at my breaking point. The worst part is you can't even talk to a human to explain that their system is wrong! I've tried calling at 7:30am like people suggest but still can't get through. Might have to try that Claimyr service people are mentioning or go to a physical office. This whole system is designed to make us give up. Hang in there - we shouldn't have to jump through hoops like this just to get the benefits we're entitled to!

Glad everything worked out for you! This is exactly why I love this community - everyone jumps in to help when someone's stressed about their benefits. Your experience will definitely help the next person who panics about certifying a day late. Thanks for posting the update!

So glad to see this worked out! I'm pretty new to NY unemployment myself and this whole thread has been super educational. I was wondering - does anyone know if there are any other common timing mistakes to avoid? Like are there certain holidays or times when the system processes things differently? Want to make sure I don't run into any surprises down the road!

bruh why is the ny unemployment website stuck in 1995 💀

Had the same issue a few weeks ago! The key is to call them as soon as possible. I used the regular DOL number (888-209-8124) and kept calling until I got through - took about 3 hours of redials but finally connected. The agent was actually really helpful and backdated my missed week within 48 hours. Don't stress too much, they deal with this all the time and can usually fix it if you explain what happened!