these fraud investigations are getting out of hand fr fr. my cousin got the same letter last week

Hey Yara, I went through something similar in 2020. The key thing is to stay calm and be organized. Even without your old passport, you should be fine with other forms of ID. I'd also suggest bringing any employment records you can find from 2019 - pay stubs, W2s, termination letters, anything that shows your work history. If you can't find those documents, your former employer might still have copies. The investigators are usually pretty reasonable if you're upfront about what happened and show you're trying to cooperate. Good luck! 🤞

just make sure u get a confirmation after u press 4. sometimes the system hangs up for no reason lol

Just wanted to add that you can also check your withholding status online through the NY DOL website if you're not sure what you selected. I logged into my account last week and could see under "Payment Information" whether I had tax withholding set up or not. It's a good way to double-check without having to call that awful phone system again. The online portal shows your payment history and tax withholding amounts too, which is helpful for keeping track.

To give you the specifics: for 2025, you can work part-time and still collect partial unemployment as long as your weekly earnings are less than your full benefit amount. NYS Department of Labor will reduce your weekly benefit by 25% of whatever you earn over $143. So if your full benefit would be $300 and you earn $200 in a week, you'd get $300 minus 25% of $57 ($200-$143), which equals about $286 in benefits.

Just wanted to add that when you apply, make sure to keep detailed records of your hour reduction. I screenshot my work schedules before and after the cut, and saved any texts or emails from my manager about the reduction. NYS Department of Labor may ask for documentation during the review process, and having everything organized made my claim go much smoother. Also, don't wait too long to apply - you want to get your claim in as soon as possible after the hour reduction happens. Good luck!

yeah the work search thing is annoying but not too bad once you get used to it. applying for jobs online counts, so does going to career fairs or updating your resume on indeed. just keep track of everything in case they audit you

I went through this exact same situation last year when my restaurant hours got slashed from 35 to 12 hours per week. At $18/hour you should qualify for a decent amount - probably somewhere in the $280-320 range based on your work history. The partial unemployment is definitely worth applying for since you're still working some hours. Just make sure to keep detailed records of your reduced schedule and earnings. The application process itself isn't too bad, mostly just proving your previous wages and explaining why your hours got cut. Good luck!

Pro tip: if you need records from your unemployment claim after it ends, file a 'Right to Know' request through the Department of Labor. I had to do this when I couldn't see my payment history anymore. Takes about 2-3 weeks but they'll send you everything.

This exact same thing happened to me when my benefits ended in December! No warning, no email, payment history just vanished overnight. I was panicking because I needed those records for my tax filing. After reading through these comments, I'm definitely going to try that claimyr service - seems like multiple people here had success with it. The fact that NY doesn't send any kind of notification when your claim ends is absolutely ridiculous. Like, a simple "Your benefits have ended, here's how to access your payment history" email would solve so many problems. But instead they just leave us all scrambling around trying to figure out what happened. Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions - at least now I know this is "normal" (even though it's completely stupid).