If you've exhausted all the calling options without success, one other official channel is your state representative's office. Each district has staff specifically to help constituents with government services issues. Look up your NY State Assembly or Senate representative, call their local office, and explain your unemployment identity verification issue. They often have direct contacts at NYSDOL who can assist with these situations.

I went through this nightmare last year and want to share what finally worked for me. After weeks of calling with no success, I discovered that NY unemployment has a live chat feature that's available Monday-Friday 8am-5pm. You access it through your NY.gov unemployment account - look for a small "Live Chat" button usually at the bottom right of the page. The chat agents can actually initiate the alternative identity verification process right there and send you a secure link to upload your documents (driver's license, birth certificate, utility bill, etc.). It took me 3 tries to catch someone during a less busy time, but once I got through, my identity was verified within 24 hours. Pro tip: Try the chat feature around 11am or 2pm when call volume is typically lower. Way less stressful than calling repeatedly!

Just to add - if you do decide to appeal, make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even during the appeal process. If you win the appeal, you'll get paid for those weeks. If you don't file, you lose those weeks forever even if the appeal goes in your favor.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now and found out there are actually different types of disqualifications. For voluntary quit without good cause, it's what Zoe mentioned - you need to work and earn 10x your weekly benefit rate. But there's also a misconduct disqualification which has different rules. You should look at your determination letter carefully because it should specify which type you got. Also, definitely don't wait too long to appeal if you think you had good cause - that 30 day window goes by fast. I made the mistake of waiting and missed my chance.

If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to verify your benefit amount or have other questions about your claim, I had success using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was stuck on hold for hours trying to reach someone about my adjudication issue, but this got me through in about 20 minutes.

The whole system is such a mess. They make it impossible to get straight answers about anything. I've been dealing with an overpayment notice for months and can't get anyone to explain why they think I owe money back. At least you're getting the max amount - that's something!

basically if you quit or got fired for being bad at your job youre probably screwed. layoffs and company closures are usually fine though

Another thing to watch out for is if you're getting any severance pay or vacation payout - that can delay when your benefits start. NY has a waiting period if you receive certain types of separation pay. Also, if you do any freelance or part-time work while collecting, you have to report it or they can deny future claims for fraud. Since you mentioned downsizing, make sure you have documentation of that (layoff notice, WARN Act notice if applicable) in case they question the separation reason.

My brother works in HR and he says their company pays like $800 per employee per year into unemployment on average. Seems like a lot but I guess it adds up when you consider all the people collecting benefits. The NYS Department of Labor definitely doesn't make it easy to understand how any of this works though.

Just wanted to add that the NYS Department of Labor also adjusts these rates annually based on the overall health of the unemployment fund. In years when there are more claims (like during economic downturns), the rates can increase across the board. The taxable wage base also changes - it was $12,300 in 2025 but gets adjusted for inflation. One thing that surprised me when I was researching this is that employers can't pass these costs directly to employees - it's entirely employer-funded, which is different from other payroll taxes where costs are sometimes shared.