You should also know that even if you get approved, you might have to wait longer for your first payment since they'll need to investigate. My cousin quit for good cause and it took 6 weeks before she saw any money.

I went through this exact situation two years ago. My supervisor was creating a hostile work environment and I documented everything - saved emails, wrote down incidents with dates/times, and even got a coworker to witness some of the harassment. When I finally quit and filed for unemployment, NYS Department of Labor initially denied my claim, but I appealed and won after the adjudication interview. The key was having all that documentation to prove it was a reasonable decision to quit. The whole process took about 8 weeks from filing to getting my first payment, but it was worth it. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while waiting for the decision - you'll get back pay if approved.

I just wanted to add something that helped me when I was in your exact situation - if you're having trouble finding the unemployment services section on your my.ny.gov dashboard, sometimes it's hidden under different menu names depending on how your account is set up. I had to look under both "Services" and "Benefits" before I finally found it listed as "Labor Services" in my case. Also, once you do get to your claim information, pay attention to any "Next Action Required" or "Action Items" sections - these will tell you if there's anything specific you need to do while waiting for the eligibility review to complete. I missed one of these initially and it delayed my processing by almost two weeks. The waiting period while it says "Pending Eligibility Review" is honestly the most nerve-wracking part, but just know that most claims do get approved eventually as long as you meet the basic requirements!

Just wanted to share another tip that helped me during the waiting period - set up email notifications in your my.ny.gov account settings if you haven't already! I was obsessively checking the website multiple times a day, but once I enabled notifications, I got an email immediately when my status changed from "Pending Eligibility Review" to "Active." It saved me so much anxiety and time. You can find the notification settings usually under "Account Settings" or "Profile Settings" on your dashboard. Also, when your claim does get approved, don't panic if your first payment takes an additional week or two to actually hit your bank account - there's usually a processing delay even after you start filing weekly certifications. The system will show "Payment Issued" before you actually see the money, which confused me at first. Hang in there, the waiting is definitely the hardest part!

ugh the unemployment system is so stressful. why do they make it so complicated just to get benefits we paid into?? but yeah they asked me about whether i quit or got fired and wanted like every detail about my last day

Don't stress too much about it! I just had mine last month and it was way less scary than I expected. The interviewer was professional and patient. They asked about my job search efforts - like how many applications I've submitted per week and what methods I'm using (online job boards, networking, etc.). They also wanted to know if I've turned down any job offers and why. One thing that helped me was writing down key dates and details beforehand - like my last day of work, any final conversations with my boss, and a timeline of events. Having that info ready made me feel more confident and the conversation flowed better. You've got this!

This is such good information! I'm in a similar boat - got laid off at 64 and have been putting off filing for unemployment because I wasn't sure about my pension. The NYS Department of Labor website wasn't super clear about this scenario.

If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about your specific situation, I found this service called Claimyr that helped me reach an actual agent. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helped when I had questions about my claim that I couldn't get answered through the regular channels.

Filed my first claim last week for summer break. The online system was pretty straightforward once I figured out how to navigate it. Just make sure you have all your employment info ready and be honest about your availability to work.

I'm in a similar situation - been driving for the district for 3 years but this is my first time considering filing for unemployment over the summer. Reading through all these responses is really helpful! One thing I'm still unclear on though - when they ask about "reasonable assurance" on the application, do I check yes or no if my district already told us verbally we'll be back in September? They haven't given us anything in writing yet but our supervisor said we're all expected back. I don't want to mess up my application by answering that question wrong.