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I struggled with getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my unemployment compensation claim status. The phone lines are always busy and I kept getting disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Made the whole process so much easier when I needed to check on my adjudication status.
One thing that confused me at first was seeing different dollar amounts mentioned for unemployment compensation. The maximum weekly benefit changes each year, and your actual amount depends on what you earned in your base period. For 2025, I think the max is around $504 per week, but most people get less than that based on their previous wages.
The NYS Department of Labor is ALWAYS overwhelmed and slow!! Doesn't matter if unemployment is high or low, they find ways to make simple claims take FOREVER. My adjudication took 6 weeks last time and that was during good economic times. The system is just broken.
just to add my 2 cents - the $504 max hasnt changed much in recent years which is frustrating when everything else costs more. my cousin in california gets way more than that for unemployment
Darren Brooks
I had a similar situation where I couldn't get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to check on my contested claim status. After weeks of busy signals, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you connected to real agents. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration trying to call myself.
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Rosie Harper
•Interesting, never heard of that before. Did they charge you a lot to make the call?
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Darren Brooks
•They focus more on the convenience factor rather than cost. For me it was worth it just to finally talk to someone about my claim instead of getting hung up on constantly.
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Elliott luviBorBatman
Been through this twice now. Your employer can definitely make things difficult by contesting but NYS Department of Labor usually sides with the employee if you were legitimately laid off. Just make sure you have any documentation about your layoff and keep filing your weekly claims even during the adjudication process.
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