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Just remember you also need to meet the monetary eligibility requirements - you need at least $2,900 in wages in your highest quarter AND total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your high quarter wages. Most people who worked steadily meet this easily but it can trip up people with very irregular work patterns.
One thing that messed me up was not realizing they use GROSS wages before taxes and deductions. I was calculating based on my take-home pay and couldn't figure out why my benefit was higher than expected. Also the partial benefit formula is different if you're working part-time while collecting - they have a whole other calculation for that.
The whole NYS Department of Labor system is a joke. They'll find any excuse to delay your claim and make you jump through hoops. I've been waiting 3 weeks just to get someone to explain why my claim is 'under review' with no other details. Meanwhile bills keep coming.
I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my claim status and can never get through! The phone system is absolutely useless. Has anyone found a way to actually talk to a real person there?
I had the same problem trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor about my adjudication issue. After weeks of busy signals and getting hung up on, I used this service called Claimyr that actually got me through to an agent. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. It was honestly a relief to finally talk to someone who could explain what was happening with my claim.
The whole system is backwards anyway. Companies get to destroy people's livelihoods because of political decisions and we're left scrambling for crumbs from NYS Department of Labor. Been through this twice in my career and it never gets easier.
NebulaNova
If you're looking for historical NYS Department of Labor data, you might want to try contacting their research division directly. Sometimes getting through to government agencies can be frustrating with long hold times, but there's actually a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps people get connected to NYS Department of Labor representatives more efficiently. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be worth trying if you need to speak with someone about accessing historical unemployment records.
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Sean Doyle
•Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely check that out if I need to contact NYS Department of Labor directly for my research.
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Mateo Hernandez
The whole situation in 1938 was basically caused by FDR trying to balance the budget too early and cutting New Deal spending. Plus there were major strikes in key industries. It shows how fragile economic recovery can be and why sustained support is important during unemployment crises.
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