


Ask the community...
The NYS Department of Labor system is so frustrating to deal with. I've been trying to get through on the phone for weeks about my claim status and can never reach anyone. If you need to talk to an actual person, I found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that helped me get connected to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting hung up on.
THE NYS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR COMPUTER SYSTEMS ARE A COMPLETE JOKE!!! I've been dealing with glitches and errors for months. They probably have claims from the actual Great Depression still showing as pending in their system. This is what happens when government agencies use outdated technology and don't invest in proper IT infrastructure.
When I worked in IT before becoming unemployed, we'd see timestamp errors like this when there's a database field overflow or incorrect date formatting during system updates. The 1929-1933 range is probably defaulting to some kind of epoch time error. Document everything you're seeing with screenshots and when you do reach NYS Department of Labor, mention specifically that this appears to be a database timestamp corruption issue - using technical terms sometimes helps get escalated to someone who can actually fix it.
Keep filing those weekly claims even while you're waiting! Once your initial claim gets approved, you'll get back pay for all the weeks you certified. I made that mistake once and had to appeal to get those weeks back.
5 weeks is definitely longer than usual but not unheard of, especially this time of year when claim volume is higher. The important thing is to stay on top of it and keep trying to make contact. Document every attempt you make to reach them in case you need that information later.
The whole system is broken honestly. I've been dealing with NYS Department of Labor for over a year and they make everything unnecessarily complicated. Why should people have to jump through so many hoops just to get basic information about what programs exist?? It's like they don't want to help people who need it most.
Have you considered temporary or contract work while you search? Sometimes that can help bridge the gap financially and also shows activity on your resume. Plus some temp agencies work directly with NYS Department of Labor job placement services.
I've thought about it but wasn't sure how that affects any potential benefits. Do I need to report temp work to NYS Department of Labor if I'm not currently receiving UI?
Emma Davis
The NYS Department of Labor definitely doesn't use their own claim data for unemployment statistics - that would be way too skewed since not everyone who's unemployed files for benefits. Some people don't qualify, others don't bother applying. The household survey method gives a more accurate picture of actual unemployment levels.
0 coins
CosmicCaptain
6 weeks is ridiculous for adjudication though. Something must be flagged in your file that needs manual review.
0 coins