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same boat here, mine's been pending since early January and I'm getting really anxious about rent money
The key thing to remember is that retail workers laid off for store closures have strong unemployment cases. Higher area unemployment rates might actually work in your favor since it demonstrates economic necessity rather than individual performance issues. Document everything and be persistent with follow-up.
Other things that can disqualify you: not registering for work search within required timeframe, turning down job offers that match your skills/pay level, not doing the required number of job searches per week, or having earnings that are too high while collecting. The job search requirements are pretty strict now - you need to do at least 3 searches per week and keep detailed records.
I had such a hard time getting through to NYS Department of Labor to even ask these basic questions. Kept getting busy signals for weeks. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent who walked me through the whole qualification process. There's even a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made the whole thing so much less stressful.
If you're seeing gaps or weird dates from 2020, definitely get that sorted out. NYS Department of Labor had so many system issues back then that a lot of people have incorrect information in their profiles. You can try calling but honestly, if you need to reach someone quickly about claim history issues, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works.
2020 was a nightmare honestly. unemployment hit like 15% in some areas of NY. everyone i knew was filing claims and the whole system just fell apart. took months to get straightened out
Lena Müller
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about this directly, I had success using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really helped when I needed to clarify my eligibility status and couldn't get through the regular phone lines.
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TechNinja
•never heard of that before but might be worth trying since getting through to NYS Department of Labor by phone is nearly impossible these days
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Keisha Thompson
Just make sure you understand the 'able and available' requirement for unemployment. If workers comp has you listed as unable to work, that could disqualify you from UI benefits. But if you're cleared for modified duties and your employer can't accommodate that, you should be fine. Document everything from your doctor and employer about your work restrictions and their inability to provide suitable work.
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