Also make sure you're eligible! You need to have worked and earned enough wages in your base period, be unemployed through no fault of your own, and be able and available for work. Since you worked at a restaurant you should be fine but just wanted to mention it.

The whole system is such a mess tbh. I filed in October and it took them 6 WEEKS to process my claim because of some stupid adjudication issue they never explained properly. Good luck dealing with their website crashes and busy phone lines!

Just to add - you also have to be able and available for work and actively looking. That means registering with the job search system and documenting your search activities. The job search requirement is 3 work search activities per week unless you're on standby with your employer.

Yeah standby is when your employer gives you a specific return-to-work date within 30 days. Then you don't have to do the job search stuff but you still have to file weekly claims and be available if they call you back sooner.

The unemployment system is so messed up honestly. They make it seem like there's all these different categories but really it just comes down to whether they want to approve you or not. I've seen people get denied for the stupidest reasons and others get approved when they probably shouldn't have.

From my experience, the most straightforward cases are mass layoffs, plant closures, and end of temporary assignments. Individual terminations get more scrutiny. Make sure you have documentation of your separation and be honest about the circumstances when you file.

I had trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor during peak unemployment but found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that helped me get through to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really helped when the phone lines were constantly busy.

Yeah but when unemployment is low they also cut staff at NYS Department of Labor thinking they don't need as many people. Then when things get bad again they're understaffed and everything falls apart. It's a cycle.

The whole unemployment system is a social issue! When businesses lay people off in waves like they've been doing, it creates this massive burden on NYS Department of Labor that they're just not equipped to handle efficiently. Then we all suffer with delays while they scramble to catch up.

I experienced something similar during the 2008 recession when I was laid off from manufacturing. Took almost 2 months to get my first payment because so many people were filing at once. The social aspect definitely impacts individual claims - when everyone in your industry or region gets hit at the same time, the system gets overwhelmed.