Can I sue NYS Department of Labor for negligence with my unemployment claim?
My unemployment claim has been completely botched by NYS Department of Labor and I'm wondering if I have grounds to sue them for negligence. They lost my paperwork twice, told me conflicting information about my job search requirements, and now my claim has been in adjudication for 8 weeks with no explanation. I've missed rent payments and my credit is getting destroyed because of their incompetence. I have documentation of every phone call and email showing how they messed this up. Has anyone successfully sued NYS Department of Labor or know if this is even possible? I'm desperate at this point.
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Toot-n-Mighty
Unfortunately, suing NYS Department of Labor is extremely difficult due to sovereign immunity protections. Government agencies have broad legal protections against negligence lawsuits. Your best bet is to exhaust all administrative remedies first - file a formal complaint with the agency, contact your state representatives, and document everything. If there's actual misconduct (not just delays), you might have grounds for a civil rights violation claim, but that's a much higher bar to meet.
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Tyrone Hill
•So basically they can mess up my life with zero consequences? This is so frustrating. What do you mean by administrative remedies exactly?
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Lena Kowalski
I went through something similar last year. The key is getting your claim resolved first, then worrying about accountability later. Have you tried reaching out to your local assembly member's office? They have staff who specifically help with NYS Department of Labor issues and can sometimes get claims moving when regular channels fail. Also make sure you're documenting every interaction with dates, times, and the names of who you spoke with.
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DeShawn Washington
I actually found a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to NYS Department of Labor when I couldn't reach them for weeks. They basically call for you and get you connected to an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. It was way easier than trying to sue them and got my issue resolved in days instead of months.
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Mei-Ling Chen
•How much does something like that cost though? Seems like we shouldn't have to pay extra just to reach a government agency we already fund with our taxes.
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DeShawn Washington
•I hear you on the principle, but honestly it was worth it for me to get my benefits moving again. Way cheaper than what I was losing by not getting paid.
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Sofía Rodríguez
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! I've been fighting with them for MONTHS and they just keep giving me the runaround. Eight weeks in adjudication is absolutely ridiculous. They're supposed to resolve these things in 21 days but apparently that's just a suggestion. I swear they do this on purpose hoping people will just give up and go away.
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Aiden O'Connor
same thing happened to my brother in law, took forever but eventually got resolved
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Tyrone Hill
•How long is forever? I'm running out of savings here.
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Toot-n-Mighty
To answer your administrative remedies question - you can file a formal complaint through NYS Department of Labor's internal grievance process, contact the NYS Office of the State Comptroller, reach out to your elected representatives, and if applicable, file complaints with federal agencies if there are civil rights violations. Document everything and keep pushing through official channels. Courts generally won't hear cases unless you've exhausted these options first.
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