I'm going through this exact same situation right now! My waiting week just processed yesterday and I'm still waiting on 3 weeks of back payments. Reading through all these experiences has been so helpful - I was starting to worry something was wrong with my claim. The 2-3 business day timeline that keeps coming up gives me hope that I should see my payments by early next week. It's such a stressful process when you're already dealing with unemployment and have bills piling up. Thanks to everyone for sharing their timelines and especially to those who came back with updates - it really helps to know we're not going through this alone!

This thread has been incredibly helpful for me too! I'm dealing with almost the exact same timeline - filed my claim about 3 weeks ago and my waiting week just processed yesterday morning. Still waiting on payments for 2 additional weeks that show as 'processed' in the system. Reading everyone's experiences here has really calmed my nerves - I was starting to think there was an issue with my claim when the payments didn't show up immediately. The consistent 2-3 business day timeline that multiple people have mentioned gives me hope that I should see my money by early next week. It's so stressful waiting when you have bills due, but knowing this seems to be the normal process helps a lot. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and especially for the tip about checking the payment history page instead of just obsessively refreshing my bank account!

Most common reasons for overpayment are not reporting work income correctly or being disqualified after the fact (like if they find out you quit instead of being laid off). If you're being honest on your weekly claims and have proper documentation you should be okay. The key is keeping good records of everything just in case.

I totally understand your anxiety about this! I was in the same boat a few months ago, constantly worrying about getting hit with an overpayment notice. What really helped me was setting up a simple system to track everything. I created a basic spreadsheet with tabs for my weekly claims (screenshots and dates), job search activities, and any work/income I report. For the job search piece, I log way more than the minimum 3 contacts per week - usually 5-6 just to be safe. Each entry includes company name, position, application date, method (Indeed, company website, etc.), and any responses. It takes maybe 10 minutes per week but gives me huge peace of mind. Also, I check my payment history on my.ny.gov every few weeks to make sure there are no flags or issues. The system does show pending determinations or problems if there are any. As long as you're being honest and thorough with your reporting, you should be fine. The horror stories usually involve people who didn't report work income or made genuine mistakes with the confusing rules.

This thread is so incredibly helpful! I'm currently in week 2 of waiting for my waiting week to be released and was starting to panic about when payments would actually start. Seeing Henrietta's real timeline - waiting week released Tuesday, payment received Friday - gives me actual hope instead of just the vague "processing times may vary" messages from NYSDOL. It's also really valuable to see both the success stories and the warnings about potential delays. I've already set up direct deposit and have been certifying every week, so hopefully when my waiting week gets released I'll have a similar smooth experience. Thanks everyone for sharing your real experiences - this is way more useful than anything on the official website!

Just wanted to add my experience to help others with timing expectations! My waiting week was released on a Wednesday and I received my first payment the following Monday - so 5 calendar days but only 3 business days. I think the weekend definitely slowed things down a bit. What really helped was having direct deposit already set up AND making sure I had certified for benefits that first week after my waiting week was released. I almost forgot to certify thinking the payment would be automatic, but you definitely still need to do your weekly certification even after the waiting week is processed. Hope this helps anyone else going through the same stress!

Just wanted to jump in as someone who just started collecting unemployment in January 2025 - I'm seeing all these stories about people finding updated rates in their "Benefit Rate Information" section that don't match their actual payments, and it's making me wonder if I should be proactive about checking this. My claim just started so I assumed whatever rate I'm getting is correct, but now I'm thinking maybe I should verify that I'm actually receiving the 2025 rate from the beginning rather than potentially missing out on money and having to call later for retroactive payments. Has anyone who filed their initial claim in 2025 had issues with getting the correct rate from the start, or is this mainly affecting people whose claims were already active when the increase went into effect? This thread has been super eye-opening about how poor the communication is from NYS Department of Labor!

I just went through this exact same situation last month! I was getting the same weekly amount since filing in November 2024 and had no idea about any increase until I saw a similar discussion in another forum. The key thing I learned is that you really need to check the "Benefit Rate Information" section in your my.ny.gov account - not just your payment history. When I finally looked there, I found an updated rate that had been sitting there since early January showing about $19 more per week than I was actually receiving. I called NYS Department of Labor and they confirmed it was a processing delay on their end. The good news is they made it retroactive back to January 1st, so I got a nice chunk of back payments in my next deposit. Definitely call if you're not seeing the increase by now - you shouldn't have to miss out on money because of their system delays!

This is absolutely a system error - I've been helping people with unemployment claims for years and "lack of work" layoffs are one of the most common qualifying reasons for benefits. What you're experiencing is unfortunately typical of NYS DOL's flawed initial determination process. Before you go through the formal appeal route, I'd strongly suggest calling your former employer's HR department first to verify exactly what separation reason they reported. Many times these denials happen because HR accidentally codes layoffs as "voluntary separation" or uses the wrong termination code when reporting to the state. If they did report it incorrectly, they can usually fix it directly with DOL much faster than going through appeals. If that doesn't work, then definitely file the appeal using Form IA 007.2 within your 30-day window. Keep certifying weekly during the process - you'll get backpay once this obvious error is corrected. Don't let their bureaucratic incompetence discourage you from getting the benefits you're clearly entitled to.

This is incredibly frustrating but unfortunately very common with NYS DOL - their system has serious issues with properly coding separation reasons. "Lack of work" is literally THE textbook reason for unemployment eligibility, so this is clearly an error on their end. Based on everyone's advice here, I'd definitely start by calling your former employer's HR department to verify what separation reason they actually reported to the state. There's a good chance they accidentally coded it wrong (like "voluntary quit" instead of "layoff due to lack of work"). If HR can't fix it directly, then you'll need to file an appeal using Form IA 007.2 within 30 days. Make sure to include your written layoff notice as evidence. Keep certifying weekly during the appeal process - you'll get backpay once this obvious mistake gets corrected. Don't let their bureaucratic incompetence discourage you from fighting for benefits you're clearly entitled to!