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Check your online account for the monetary determination notice - it breaks down exactly how they calculated your benefit amount using your quarterly earnings. If you think there's an error, you can request a hearing to dispute it.
The whole system is ridiculous honestly. Got fired from my warehouse job for missing too many days when my kid was sick and they STILL made me wait 6 weeks for adjudication. Like they're doing you a favor or something. But yeah you can definitely apply, just be prepared for them to take forever to decide.
Just to add - make sure you're honest about the reason for termination when you file. NYS Department of Labor will contact your employer anyway, so any discrepancies will hurt your case. The fact that you feel the write-ups were unfair doesn't necessarily matter legally, but if you can show the termination wasn't for willful misconduct, you should be approved.
I had a similar situation where I couldn't get through to NYS Department of Labor for weeks to check on my adjudication status, which made the anxiety so much worse. A friend told me about this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that basically calls the unemployment office for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. I was skeptical at first but watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI) and decided to try it. Got through to someone at NYS Department of Labor the same day and found out my claim just needed one additional document. Having that clarity really helped with the mental stress of not knowing.
This might sound weird but I found it helpful to treat job searching like a part-time job - work on it for 4-5 hours a day then give yourself permission to do other things. The guilt of 'I should always be looking for work' was eating me alive. Also, if you're really struggling mentally, many areas have free counseling services for people dealing with unemployment.
The whole system is ridiculous honestly. Why should federal employees have to jump through extra hoops just because our paychecks came from a different source? NYS Department of Labor should streamline this process instead of making us provide all these additional federal documents.
Butch Sledgehammer
ugh the NYS Department of Labor system is so confusing though!! I tried to file for partial unemployment last year and it took WEEKS to get through to someone who could explain how it works. The website doesn't make it clear at all that you can file while still employed
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Freya Ross
•I had trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor too when I needed to ask about my partial claim status. I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call myself.
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Leslie Parker
Just wanted to add that you'll still need to do job search activities even for partial unemployment. NYS Department of Labor requires you to look for full-time work and keep a record of your job search efforts. Don't skip this part or they can deny your benefits!
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Justin Trejo
•Good to know! How many job contacts do I need to make each week?
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Alana Willis
•It's typically 3 job contacts per week, but check your specific requirements when you file. NYS Department of Labor will tell you exactly what you need to do for job search activities.
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