ny unemployment system is straight garbage rn. good luck fam 👀

Hey Luca! I totally get the panic - was in the same boat last year. Filed in March and got my first payment in early May, so about 6 weeks after the questionnaire. The key is staying on top of it. Call every few days, keep certifying weekly even if nothing's happening, and document everything. Also check your online account religiously for any new requests or updates. The horror stories are real but a lot of people do get through faster than that. Hang in there and keep pushing! 💪

Based on everything you've shared, I believe your claim is stuck in what's called 'adjudication limbo' - where it requires manual review but hasn't been assigned to an adjudicator. Multiple employers plus the holiday backlog are likely culprits. The good news is that once you get through to someone, these issues can often be resolved quickly. Please come back and let us know what works for you - it helps others in similar situations.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - applied in December and still waiting! It's so frustrating how broken the system is. From reading all these responses, it sounds like your best bet is definitely talking to a real person. I'm going to try the assembly member route too after seeing how many people recommended it. The fact that you've been certifying every week is smart - at least you'll get that backpay when this gets sorted out. Keep us posted on what works!

The NYS Department of Labor system is honestly a nightmare to navigate. I've been dealing with UI tax issues for three years and every time I call them it's like starting from scratch. At least the quarterly schedule is straightforward once you know it.

One thing to add - make sure you're keeping track of your wage base limits too. For 2024, the NYS unemployment insurance wage base is $12,300 per employee, so you only pay UI tax on wages up to that amount per worker. Also, if you're using payroll software, most of them will calculate and remind you about the quarterly deposits automatically, which can help avoid missing those deadlines.

Just wanted to add that even after you start receiving benefits, sometimes there can be delays with individual payments. I've had weeks where the money showed up on Tuesday and other weeks it was Friday. Don't panic if one payment seems late - the system isn't always consistent with timing.

I'm currently going through the same process - filed my claim 10 days ago and still waiting. From what I've gathered talking to others in similar situations, the 2-3 week timeline seems to be accurate if there are no complications. One thing I learned is that you can check your claim status on the ny.gov portal under "View Payment History" - it won't show payments yet but it will indicate if there are any issues or if your claim is being reviewed. Also make sure your direct deposit info is set up correctly because that can cause delays too. Hang in there, it's frustrating but most people do get their first payment within that 3 week window.

also make sure you check your messages in the my.ny.gov system regularly!! sometimes they send requests for additional documents or information there and if you miss them it can delay your claim processing even more

Pro tip: set up notifications in your my.ny.gov account so you get alerts when there are updates to your claim or new messages. I missed a document request for almost a week because I wasn't checking regularly enough. Also, if you're having trouble with the website, try accessing it early in the morning (like 6-7 AM) when there's less traffic - the system seems to work better then. Keep all your documents ready to upload as PDFs because they'll likely ask for multiple things throughout the process.