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ugh the whole system is so slow and confusing. i've been waiting 4 weeks and still haven't gotten my determination letter. tried calling NYS Department of Labor like 50 times and either get busy signals or get hung up on after waiting for hours. it's ridiculous that they can't give you a straight answer about when you'll get paid when people are struggling to pay bills
I had the same problem with getting through to NYS Department of Labor on the phone. I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that calls for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. I was able to get my claim status updated within a day of talking to someone. Worth checking out if you're stuck in the system.
Make sure you're doing your job search requirements too! Even while waiting for approval you need to be applying for jobs and keeping track in the system. I think it's 3 job contacts per week now. If you don't do the job search stuff they can deny your whole claim.
If you do get fired and need to reach NYS Department of Labor to check on your claim status, I had good luck with claimyr.com - it's a service that calls and waits on hold for you. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really saved me time when I was trying to get through during my adjudication period and couldn't reach anyone at the regular phone numbers.
Just make sure you file your claim right away if you do get terminated. You can't backdate benefits in most cases, so don't wait thinking you'll find another job quickly. Even if you're not sure you'll qualify, it's better to file and let NYS Department of Labor make the determination.
Look, the whole system is rigged anyway. They raise the minimum wage to make themselves look good, then small businesses can't afford to hire as many people, unemployment goes up, and guess who suffers? Regular working people like us. Meanwhile the politicians pat themselves on the back for 'helping workers' while we're all fighting for fewer jobs. It's a joke.
This reminds me of when I was unemployed back in 2019 before all the wage increases really kicked in. I remember thinking it would be easier to find work then, but honestly it was still pretty competitive. I think every generation thinks the job market was better before whatever economic changes happened during their time. The important thing is just to keep applying and stay positive about it.
The NYS Department of Labor system is so slow compared to other states. My friend in Florida got her first check in 10 days. Here it's like they want you to suffer while they take their sweet time processing everything.
Alicia Stern
I was in a similar situation last year and had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about my benefit calculation. The phone lines are always busy and I kept getting disconnected. I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent who explained exactly how my benefits were calculated. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Made the whole process way less stressful than trying to call repeatedly.
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Gabriel Graham
•How much did that cost? I'm already worried about money if I lose my job.
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Alicia Stern
•It was worth it for me because I needed answers quickly and couldn't waste time calling all day. The peace of mind knowing exactly what to expect was huge.
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Drake
The whole system is so confusing! I got laid off 3 months ago and I'm still not 100% sure how they calculated my weekly amount. NYS Department of Labor sent me a monetary determination letter but the math doesn't seem right to me. I think they might have missed some of my wages from when I had two jobs last year.
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Chloe Boulanger
•If you think there's an error in your wage calculation, you should definitely appeal that monetary determination. You have 30 days from when you received the notice to request a hearing. Gather all your pay stubs and tax documents to prove your actual earnings.
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