If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor for any reason, I found this service called Claimyr that helps you get through to their agents. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helpful when you can't get through the normal way.

For your paper, you might also want to look into the Wisconsin Unemployment Compensation Act of 1932 - it was actually the first state unemployment insurance law in the US, which helped inspire the federal Social Security Act a few years later. New York followed pretty quickly after the federal mandate. The NYS Department of Labor website has some good historical resources in their archives section if you need more detailed info for your research.

I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I needed to speak to someone about my travel nurse claim status. The phone lines are always busy and I kept getting hung up on. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made the whole process so much easier when I needed to verify my employment history with multiple agencies.

The system is so messed up honestly. I know nurses who got denied because they didn't understand how to explain their employment situation properly. NYS Department of Labor doesn't make it easy for people with non-traditional work arrangements.

at least you can still get benefits going forward though, better late than never i guess. just make sure you do those weekly certifications every week or you'll lose more money

I'm in a similar situation - got laid off in September and just filed last month. It's really frustrating to learn you can't get those lost weeks back, but I wanted to share something that might help going forward. Make sure when you certify each week that you're documenting all your job search activities properly. I learned the hard way that NYS DOL can ask for proof of your work search efforts and if you don't have good records, they can deny benefits even for current weeks. Keep a log of every application, contact, and interview. Also, don't forget to report any part-time or temporary work - even a few hours can affect your weekly benefit but it's better to report it than get caught later.

Honestly the whole unemployment system is set up wrong! How are new graduates supposed to survive if they can't get benefits because they never worked but they can't work because nobody will hire someone without experience?? Its like a catch 22 and the government doesn't care about helping young people get started

I was in a similar boat a couple years ago - graduated with no real work history and couldn't get UI benefits. One thing that helped me was applying for entry-level positions at temp agencies. Even short-term assignments start building your work history and get you W-2s that count toward future UI eligibility. Places like Kelly Services, Robert Half, and local staffing agencies often have admin, warehouse, or customer service roles that don't require much experience. It's not ideal but at least you're earning money while building the work history you'll need if you ever have to use unemployment benefits later. Plus some temp jobs turn into permanent positions.

Just went through this myself last week! The ID.me verification is definitely legit and required now. I was super hesitant at first too because of all the scam stories, but it's actually the real deal. Make sure you're going through the official NY unemployment site (labor.ny.gov) and not clicking any links from emails. The whole process took me about 20 minutes - had to take photos of my driver's license front and back, then do the selfie verification. My lighting wasn't great the first time so I had to redo the selfie part, but it worked fine on the second try. Once you're verified, updating your direct deposit info is pretty straightforward. It's annoying that they didn't really announce this change clearly, but I guess it's necessary with all the fraud that's been happening.

I just went through this exact same thing yesterday! The ID.me verification is definitely required now for any banking or personal info changes. I was super paranoid about it too after hearing about all the fraud, but it's completely legitimate. The NY Department of Labor rolled this out earlier this year because of all the unemployment scams that happened during the pandemic. A few tips that helped me get through it faster: - Make sure you have good lighting when taking the selfie - Clean your phone camera lens first - Have your driver's license ready (make sure it's not expired!) - Use the official labor.ny.gov site, never click links from emails The whole process took me about 15 minutes. The facial recognition part can be a bit finicky, but if it fails a few times you can request to do a video call with an ID.me agent instead. Once you're verified, you're good to go for all future changes too - you won't have to do it again. I totally get being cautious about giving out personal info, but this is the new normal for government benefits unfortunately. Better safe than sorry with all the hackers out there!