Can you get back pay for unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor?
I'm wondering if anyone knows about getting retroactive unemployment payments. My claim was finally approved last week after being stuck in adjudication for over two months, but they only started my benefits from when it got approved, not from when I originally filed. I lost my job in September and filed right away but there was some issue with my employer verification that took forever to resolve. Now I'm only getting benefits going forward. Is there a way to get the back pay for those two months when my claim was being reviewed? I really need that money to catch up on bills.
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Abigail Patel
Yes, you should definitely be eligible for retroactive payments! When NYS Department of Labor approves a claim after adjudication, they're supposed to pay benefits back to your effective date, which is usually the week you filed. You need to call them and specifically ask about the retroactive payments. Make sure you have your confirmation number from when you originally filed.
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Rhett Bowman
•Thank you! Do you know what I should say when I call? I've tried calling before but it's so hard to get through to anyone.
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Daniel White
same thing happened to me but it took like 3 weeks before they figured out the back pay thing. they said i had to keep filing weekly claims even during adjudication which i did so maybe thats why?
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Rhett Bowman
•I did keep filing my weekly claims the whole time, so hopefully that helps my case.
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Nolan Carter
The technical term you want to use is 'retroactive benefits' when you speak to NYS Department of Labor. Your effective date should be the Sunday of the week you filed your initial claim, assuming you were unemployed through no fault of your own. If adjudication found in your favor, you're entitled to benefits for all eligible weeks from that effective date. However, you must have filed weekly claims during the adjudication period - if you missed any weeks, those cannot be paid retroactively.
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Natalia Stone
•Wait, so if I stopped filing weekly claims during my adjudication because I thought there was no point, I can't get those weeks back? That's like 6 weeks of benefits!
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Nolan Carter
•Unfortunately, that's correct. NYS Department of Labor requires continuous weekly claim filing to establish eligibility for each week. You can't retroactively file for weeks you missed.
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Tasia Synder
I had major problems getting through to NYS Department of Labor about my back pay issue. Spent weeks calling and either getting busy signals or getting disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr that actually got me connected to a real person at claimyr.com. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Ended up getting my full retroactive payment within a week of finally talking to someone who could actually help.
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Rhett Bowman
•How much does something like that cost? I'm already tight on money which is why I need the back pay so badly.
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Tasia Synder
•It was worth it for me considering how much time I'd already wasted trying to get through on my own. The back pay I received was substantial so it made sense.
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Selena Bautista
This whole system is so messed up! Why should people have to jump through hoops to get money they're legally entitled to? I went through the same thing last year and it took MONTHS to get my retroactive benefits. The NYS Department of Labor acts like they're doing us a favor when it's literally our money that we paid into the system!
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Mohamed Anderson
•I feel you on this. The stress of not knowing if you'll get that money is terrible when you're already dealing with being unemployed.
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Ellie Perry
I went through something similar recently and here's what worked for me: call the NYS Department of Labor first thing in the morning (8am sharp) and keep trying until you get through. When you do connect, ask specifically for your "retroactive benefits calculation" and mention that your claim was approved after adjudication. Have your confirmation number ready from your original filing date. The rep told me that as long as you continued filing weekly claims during adjudication (which it sounds like you did), you should get back pay to your effective date. It took about 10 business days for the retroactive payment to show up in my account after they processed it. Don't give up - you're entitled to that money!
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