Can I sue NYS Department of Labor for not paying unemployment benefits - legal options?

No denial letters, just says 'approved' but payment status shows 'pending release' for weeks now. How do I request a hearing if I don't even know what the issue is?

How did she find out about the identity verification? Did she eventually get all the back pay?

yeah she got everything but it took forever. she used some service called claimyr that helped her actually get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor. check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that explains how it works

This is good advice. Also try contacting your state senator's office, not just assembly. Sometimes they have better connections with NYS Department of Labor leadership.

I feel your frustration but the appeals process does work if you have documentation. I successfully appealed an overpayment decision last year by providing detailed work records.

This is really helpful advice! I didn't know about the Office of Special Investigations option. @Connor O'Brien - when you say "expediting," did they give you a timeline for when you might actually see payments? I've been documenting everything but it's good to know that complaint route might actually get results. Going to try this first thing tomorrow morning.

@Connor O'Brien Thanks for sharing this! I'm in a similar boat - approved but no payments for 5 weeks now. Did you have to provide any specific documentation when filing with the Office of Special Investigations, or just explain the situation? Also wondering if there's a particular way to word the complaint to get better results. Really hoping this works because I'm running out of options too.

@Connor O'Brien This is exactly what I needed to hear! I've been spinning my wheels with regular customer service for weeks. Quick question - when you filed with the Office of Special Investigations, did you frame it as a processing delay issue or something else? I want to make sure I'm using the right language when I submit my complaint. Also really curious about that timeline too since I'm in the same boat as @Ryan Andre. Thanks for giving me hope that there's actually a way forward here!

@Connor O'Brien This is incredibly useful information! I had no idea the Office of Special Investigations even existed. When you filed the complaint, did you need to include specific evidence or documentation beyond just explaining the delay? And did they ask you to stop calling regular customer service while they investigated? I'm worried about messing up my case by pursuing multiple channels at once. Really appreciate you sharing what actually worked - gives me hope that there's a real solution here instead of just waiting indefinitely.

@Connor O'Brien This is such valuable info, thank you! I'm dealing with the exact same situation - approved claim but 7 weeks of no payments. When you filed with the Office of Special Investigations, did you mention specific financial hardship or just focus on the processing delay? I'm wondering if emphasizing the impact (like @Chloe Martin mentioned with overdue rent helps) prioritize cases. Also, did they give you any insight into what was actually causing the hold-up? I m'hoping this route finally gets me some real answers instead of the generic your "case is being reviewed responses" I keep getting.

@Connor O'Brien This is great advice! I'm definitely going to try the Office of Special Investigations route. Quick question - did you have to wait for any kind of confirmation that they received your complaint, or did they just call you back directly? Also wondering if it's worth mentioning that I've already contacted my assemblyman's office with no results, or if I should keep the complaint focused just on the processing delay itself. Really hoping this finally breaks through the bureaucratic wall I've been hitting for weeks!

@Connor O'Brien I really appreciate you sharing this solution! I've been stuck in the same endless loop with regular customer service. When you filed with the Office of Special Investigations, did you need to provide your claim confirmation number and all those call reference numbers, or was a general description of the delay sufficient? Also wondering if they reached out to you by phone or email when they followed up. I'm going to try this approach first thing Monday morning - it's the first actionable advice I've seen that actually seems to cut through the bureaucracy. Fingers crossed this works for all of us dealing with this nightmare!

@Connor O'Brien This gives me so much hope! I've been banging my head against the wall with regular customer service for weeks. Two quick questions: 1) Did you select a specific category when filing the complaint, or is there a general "processing delays" option? 2) When they called you back in 3 days, was it someone from the Office of Special Investigations directly or did they transfer your case back to regular claims processing? I'm going to file tomorrow but want to make sure I'm doing it right the first time. Thank you for sharing what actually worked - this is the first real solution I've seen posted anywhere!

@Connor O'Brien This is exactly the kind of actionable advice I was hoping to find! I'm in week 9 of waiting with an approved claim but zero payments. When you mention filing with the Office of Special Investigations, did you find their complaint form easily on the NYS DOL website, or did you have to dig around for it? Also, when they called back about "expediting" your case, did they give you any timeline or just say they were working on it? I'm definitely going to try this approach - it's the first thing I've read that sounds like it might actually cut through all the bureaucratic nonsense. Really appreciate you taking the time to share what worked!

@Connor O'Brien This is incredibly helpful - thank you for sharing something that actually worked! I'm in the same nightmare situation (approved for 6 weeks but no payments) and regular customer service just keeps telling me to "wait for processing." Quick question: when you filed with the Office of Special Investigations, did you need to reference your specific claim number and all those customer service call reference numbers, or was describing the delay situation enough? Also, did they contact you directly or route it back through regular claims? I'm going to file this complaint today - this is the first concrete action step I've seen that might actually break through this endless waiting game. Really hoping this works for everyone stuck in this situation!

@Connor O'Brien Thank you so much for sharing this! I've been dealing with the same "approved but no payment" situation for 7 weeks now and I'm at my wit's end. This is the first actual solution I've seen that sounds promising. Quick question - when you filed with the Office of Special Investigations, did you need to provide all your documentation upfront (screenshots, call logs, etc.) or just describe the situation initially? Also, when they said they're "expediting" your case, did they give you any sense of timeline? I'm going to file this complaint today - really hoping this breaks through the endless runaround I've been getting from regular customer service. Thanks again for sharing what actually worked instead of just venting!