Anyone received their NY unemployment tourism worker relief refund yet?

same boat here. worked at a hotel in Lake Placid that closed for renovations and qualified for the tourism relief. applied in December and still nothing showing up in my payment history. called like 50 times and can never get through!!

The tourism worker relief supplement is definitely real, but there have been major delays in processing. According to the NYSDOL website, they're currently working through a backlog of applications from November-December 2024. The payments are being processed in batches based on application date. Make sure you completed Form TS-375 (Tourism Sector Verification) when you initially applied. Without that form, your application won't be processed for the supplement. You can check if it's on file by logging into your account and checking the "Submitted Documents" section.

I actually received my tourism supplement last week! I applied in early December 2024. It showed up as a separate payment labeled "TOUR-SUPP" in my payment history. The amount was about 30% of my weekly benefit rate multiplied by the number of eligible weeks. One thing I noticed is that they sent an email notification the day before it hit my account. Check your spam folder to make sure you didn't miss any communications from them. Also, they're processing them by region - NYC first, then Long Island, then Capital Region, etc. Where are you located?

i got mine 2 weeks ago, took about 9 weeks after i applieed. the thing is they dont tell u when its coming just shows up one day. check ur bank account not just the unemployment portal cuz sometimes the portal takes a day to update after the deposit hits ur account

After spending WEEKS trying to reach someone at NYSDOL about my missing tourism supplement, I finally got through using Claimyr (claimyr.com). It's this service that gets you connected to an unemployment agent in minutes instead of spending days calling. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE Turns out my application was flagged because I had worked both tourism AND retail during my base period, so they needed to manually review which sector I primarily worked in. The agent fixed it while I was on the phone and said my tourism supplement should process within 7-10 business days. Without getting through to a real person, I think my application would still be sitting there.

ANYONE saying they got their tourism money is LYING or works for the department!!!! This is just another SCAM program they announced to make it LOOK like they care about seasonal workers. I've been waiting since NOVEMBER 2024 and know at least TWELVE other people from my resort who haven't gotten A SINGLE PENNY of this supposed "relief" fund!!!! They're probably using the money to pay for their fancy government lunches while we struggle to pay rent!!!!!

I waited 13 weeks for mine, then suddenly got an email saying I was disqualified because my employer didn't properly classify me as a tourism worker on their quarterly wage reports. Had to appeal with copies of my job description and proof that our resort is considered a tourism business. Took another 5 weeks after appeal but finally got it last Friday. If you're hitting week 10+ with no payment, something might be wrong with your application specifically.

I called about mine yesterday actually. The guy said they're processing January applications right now, so you should get yours in the next batch. He said they run batches every 2 weeks, so maybe check next week? The tourism relief is actually coming from a different fund than regular unemployment, that's why it's so slow.

After reading through everyone's responses, it sounds like there are three possible issues: 1) Your application is still in the queue based on your application date and region, 2) There might be a problem with your TS-375 form or employer classification, or 3) Your application is stuck somewhere in the system. Since you've been waiting 10 weeks, I'd definitely recommend trying to speak with someone directly. The regular phone lines are nearly impossible to get through on. When I used Claimyr (claimyr.com), I actually spoke to a supervisor who could see exactly where my application was in the system and what was causing the delay. The peace of mind alone was worth it after weeks of uncertainty.

Just a quick update that might help others: I learned that NYSDOL is sending out batch payments for the tourism supplement every other Wednesday. So if you don't see anything this week, the next batch would likely be processed next Wednesday. Also, for anyone still waiting, double-check that your direct deposit information is current in the system. I've heard some payments were delayed because people had changed bank accounts since their initial claim.