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One thing to watch out for - if you're taking classes you need to make sure NYS Department of Labor doesn't think you're unavailable for work. I had a friend who got denied because they thought her college schedule meant she couldn't accept full-time employment. Just be ready to explain how your class schedule works with job availability.
The system is such a pain honestly. I've been fighting with adjudication for weeks over something that should be simple. But yeah definitely file if you think you might qualify - they'll tell you yes or no and at least you'll know for sure. Better than wondering and missing out on benefits you're entitled to.
Also make sure you have accurate gross wages for each employer, not just net pay. NYS Department of Labor calculates your benefit amount based on gross wages, and if you report the wrong amounts it can delay your claim or create overpayment issues later. Keep all your documentation in case they need to verify anything during adjudication.
Also don't forget you'll need to do weekly claims every week to keep getting benefits. And they have job search requirements now - you need to do work search activities and keep a log. The whole system is such a pain but at least the money helps while you're looking.
The whole system is ridiculous! Employers can fire you for basically anything and then try to block your unemployment too. I got fired for being 5 minutes late ONCE and had to fight for months to get my benefits. NYS Department of Labor always sides with the employer first.
Lucas Kowalski
I've been trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my own claim issues and it's impossible. If you need to actually talk to someone about this wages in lieu situation, I recently found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to unemployment agents. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Saved me hours of calling and getting disconnected.
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Olivia Martinez
•How does that work exactly? Do they just keep calling for you or what?
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Lucas Kowalski
•They basically handle the calling process and get you connected to an actual person at NYS Department of Labor. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.
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Charlie Yang
The whole wages in lieu thing is so confusing! I got severance when I was laid off and wasn't sure if that was the same thing. Turns out severance is different - you can collect unemployment right away with severance but not with wages in lieu of notice. The NYS Department of Labor website should really explain this stuff better.
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