Applied for NY unemployment in May, got determination letter but no money for 2 months?

Yeah unfortunately this is super common with ny unemployment. The system is a total nightmare these days. I waited almost 3 months before getting my benefits. Keep certifying every week even tho it still says pending! I know it feels pointless but you'll get backpay for all those weeks once they finally process your claim.

After weeks of trying to reach someone on the phone (impossible mission), I gave up and tried this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They somehow got me connected to an actual person at unemployment who resolved my issue in like 10 minutes! Talking to an agent got my money unlocked so fast. They have a YouTube video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

The exact same thing happened to me in February. My account was stuck in pending hell for MONTHS. Turns out they had some stupid identity verification issue they never told me about. After I finally got through to someone they fixed it that day and all my backpay came about 3 days later. Honestly the most frustrating part is they never communicate what the problem is. They just leave you hanging indefinitely. The NY unemployment system is completely broken.

This seems to be happening to everyone I know who's filed lately. My cousin waited 11 weeks. My friend waited 9 weeks. The system is just broken and understaffed. Keep certifying every single week so when they do process it you'll get all that backpay. And maybe try calling right when they open at 8am - sometimes the wait isn't as bad then.

Welcome to the wonderful world of New York's unemployment system 🤡 I've been dealing with this garbage since January. Check your spam folder and make sure you didn't miss any emails about identity verification. That's what delayed mine for 3 months and they never bothered to call me about it.

DID YOU CHECK YOUR PAYMENT METHOD ON THE WEBSITE?? I had the same issue and realized they had my old bank account info. Had to update it and then call them to push the payments through. Also make sure you answer YES to the question about looking for work each week or they'll freeze everything.

Dealing with this exact problem myself. Try contacting your state representatives office! That's what I did after weeks of nothing and they actually have special liaisons who can contact unemployment directly. My state senator's office got my claim fixed in about a week after I'd been waiting for over 2 months.

Here's what worked for me after 10 weeks of getting nowhere with NY unemployment: 1. CALL EARLY AND OFTEN - I'm talking 8:00am on the dot. Keep redialing even when you get the busy signal. 2. CONTACT YOUR STATE ASSEMBLY PERSON - They have special channels to unemployment and can sometimes expedite claims. 3. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING - Keep records of all your work searches, calls to unemployment, etc. 4. TRY A CALLING SERVICE - I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) which basically waits on hold for you and then connects you to an agent. This actually worked when nothing else did. 5. CHECK FOR IDENTITY VERIFICATION - Many claims are stuck because of ID verification issues you were never notified about. 6. KEEP CERTIFYING - No matter what, don't miss a week of certification. The system is absolutely overwhelmed right now but being persistent eventually pays off. Once they fix whatever is holding up your claim, you'll get all your backpay at once.

Try Twitter! Seriously. Tweet at @NYSLabor with your issue (don't include personal info). They sometimes respond and help people who complain publicly. Worked for my roommate after 6 weeks of pending payments.

Double check that you answered all the questions correctly during certification. One wrong answer can put your whole claim on hold. Also, they might have sent you a letter or email about additional documentation they need. The notices are easy to miss.

omg i feel ur pain!!! the ny unemployment system is TRASH. i waited 13 weeks last year before they fixed mine. what finally worked was having my uncle who works for the state make a call for me. do you know anyone who has connections in state government?

When this happened to me I finally got through to someone using claimyr.com - it was the best $$ I ever spent to get my claim fixed. They connected me to an agent who saw that my claim was flagged for "employment verification" which was never communicated to me. The agent cleared it on the spot and I got paid for all 9 weeks two days later. There's no way I would've known that without getting through to an actual person.

dont give up!! it took me 11 weeks but i finally got all my backpay at once. $6700 hit my account overnight. just keep certifying and try to get ahold of someone. the phone system is designed to make you give up. dont let them win.

The fact that the NY unemployment system is still this broken is absolutely insane. It's been like this for YEARS. Nobody cares because politicians don't have to deal with it. I'd recommend documenting everything and also filing a complaint with the state ombudsman's office.