I was struggling to reach NYS Department of Labor agents to get clarification on my eligibility status when my claim got flagged for review. The phone lines are always busy and the online messaging never gets responses. I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual agent in like 10 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helped me understand what documentation I needed to prove I was still eligible.

Same boat here! Restaurant worker too and the whole eligible thing had me stressed. As long as you're doing your weekly certifications honestly and keeping up with the job search stuff you should be fine. The restaurant industry is actually pretty good for finding multiple job leads each week since there's always turnover somewhere.

Progress is better than nothing I guess but the NYS Department of Labor system is so confusing. Why can't they just say 'under review' or something normal people can understand? And why does it take weeks just to verify basic information? Other states process claims way faster.

I've been through this same situation! "Progress" status drove me crazy for about 2-3 weeks, but it eventually switched to approved. The key thing is to keep filing your weekly certifications no matter what - I almost stopped doing them thinking it didn't matter, but my caseworker later told me that would have delayed my payments even more. The NYS system is definitely slow, but progress is actually a good sign that there are no major issues with your application. Hang in there!

The only potential tax consideration is that unemployment benefits are taxable income for federal and state taxes, while Social Security benefits may or may not be taxable depending on your total income. But this is just a tax issue, not an impact on the benefit amounts themselves.

I'm actually dealing with a similar situation right now - I'm 61 and just got laid off from my job of 15 years. I was also worried about how unemployment might affect my future Social Security benefits, so I did a lot of research and even spoke with someone at the Social Security Administration. They confirmed what others have said here - unemployment benefits are NOT counted as earned income for Social Security purposes and won't impact your benefit calculation at all. The Social Security Administration only looks at wages from employment and self-employment income when calculating your benefits. Unemployment insurance is considered an insurance benefit, not earnings. So you can definitely file with NYS Department of Labor without any concerns about your future Social Security. I filed mine last week and feel much better knowing it won't hurt my retirement plans.

Just checking back - were you able to get through to NYSDOL? Make sure to have your NY.gov ID and all your claim information ready when you call. Also, check if you received any DocuSign emails - sometimes they require additional documentation for the Extended Benefits program that wasn't needed for regular UI.

That's awesome @Aisha Abdullah! So glad you got it sorted out. For anyone else dealing with this issue, it sounds like the key takeaways are: 1) "Benefits exhausted" usually means your regular 26-week UI ran out, not that FPUC ended early, 2) You should qualify for Extended Benefits but the system often doesn't auto-enroll you, 3) Calling NYSDOL is necessary but can be really tough - services like Claimyr can help you actually get through, and 4) Make sure to check for any ID verification or documentation requests that might be blocking your transition to EB. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this thread will probably help a lot of people in the same situation!

I got disqualified for 'misconduct' even though all I did was show up 15 minutes late a few times. The NYS Department of Labor system is so broken, they'll find any excuse to deny claims. Make sure you appeal if they try to disqualify you!

For the hostile workplace situation, you'll want to gather as much documentation as possible - emails, text messages, witness statements, any HR complaints you filed, performance reviews that suddenly changed, etc. The key is showing a pattern of behavior that made continuing work unreasonable. NY does recognize "constructive dismissal" where conditions become so bad you're essentially forced to quit. Also keep in mind that you have to show you tried to resolve the situation first (like reporting to HR) before quitting, unless the situation was so severe that wasn't possible.