My cousin went through this 2 years ago and said the most important thing was staying calm and sticking to facts during the hearing. Don't get emotional even if the employer's representative says things that make you angry.

I went through a similar appeal hearing last year for a misconduct denial and won without a lawyer. Here's what helped me: 1) Request all your personnel files from HR in writing - they're legally required to provide them in NY. 2) Document everything with dates and times - write down exactly what happened leading to your termination. 3) Get witness statements from coworkers if possible. 4) Review your employee handbook for the exact policies they claim you violated. The hearing was actually less intimidating than I expected - the judge asked questions and let both sides present their case. Focus on facts, not emotions, and be prepared to counter their version of events with specific details. Good luck!

Just wanted to follow up and mention I had success with my backdating request after using Claimyr to reach an agent. They processed my request on the spot and I received my backdated payments within 5 business days. Good luck with yours!

@Melissa Lin That's awesome news! I'm so glad the Claimyr service worked for you too. It's such a relief when you finally get through to someone who can actually help. The 7-10 day timeframe sounds about right - mine took about 6 business days total from when I made the request to when I saw the payments in my account. Make sure to keep checking your payment history online during that time period. Sometimes the payments show up there before you get any official notification. And if you don't hear anything after 10 days, definitely call back to follow up. Good luck with everything!

Thank you! I'll make sure to include all that info. I've put together a folder with everything from the past 5 quarters now. Feeling much more confident about submitting everything properly.

I'm going through the same nightmare right now! Been trying to call for over a week with no luck. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - especially the tips about scanning documents properly and the base period requirements. I had no idea about the alternative base period option, which might actually help me since I had higher earnings in my most recent quarter. Going to try both the Career Center visit and contacting my assembly member's office tomorrow. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's so frustrating that we have to rely on each other to figure out what should be clearly explained by the state!

Just so everyone knows, if you get stuck in "pending verification" status after completing ID.me, you NEED to talk to a live agent. They have to manually release the hold sometimes. I was stuck for almost 3 weeks before using Claimyr to get through to someone. The agent told me thousands of people are in the same situation right now.

Congrats on getting through the verification! For anyone else still struggling with ID.me, here are a few additional tips that helped me: - Clear your browser cache before starting - Use Chrome or Firefox (avoid Safari/Edge as they sometimes have issues) - Make sure your ID document is completely flat when taking the photo - any shadows or glare can cause rejection - If you're having trouble with the selfie, try adjusting your screen brightness and sitting about arm's length from the camera The whole process is definitely frustrating but unfortunately necessary. Once you get through it, your payments should resume normally. Just be patient with the 3-5 day processing time after completion.

UPDATE: Money finally hit my Key Bank card this morning (Wednesday). No idea why it was delayed but at least it came through! This system is so stressful when you're depending on the money.

Glad to hear your payment came through! I've been dealing with similar delays lately. For anyone still waiting, one thing I've found helpful is to check your payment status on the NY.gov website first thing in the morning - if it shows "released" there, the Key Bank deposit usually follows within a few hours. The timing really does seem random though. I've been thinking about switching to direct deposit too after reading about all the Key Bank issues here.