Can you sue unemployment NYS Department of Labor for wrongful denial?

You typically can't sue NYS Department of Labor directly for benefit denials, but you may have options. If you've exhausted all administrative appeals (initial appeal, then Board of Review), your next step would be filing an Article 78 proceeding in state court. This reviews whether NYS Department of Labor followed proper procedures and made decisions based on substantial evidence. You'd need documentation showing the denial was arbitrary or procedural violations occurred.

been there man, its so frustrating when they get it wrong. i didn't sue but i kept appealing until i finally got someone who actually listened to the facts. took 6 months total but eventually got approved retroactively

Before considering legal action, make sure you've tried every avenue to get through to NYS Department of Labor directly. I had success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually reach a live agent who could review my case properly. Sometimes these denials happen because they're missing information or there was a miscommunication. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Might be worth trying before spending money on legal fees.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED! I got denied too and spent thousands on appeals and lawyers. They don't care about working people, they just want to deny as many claims as possible to save money. Sorry to say but unless you have rock solid documentation proving misconduct never happened, you're probably wasting your time and money.

Wait, if 12 other people were laid off at the same time, that sounds like a mass layoff situation. Did NYS Department of Labor consider that when making their decision? Sometimes they mess up the initial determination if they don't have all the facts about the circumstances. You might want to request your complete file to see exactly what information they based the misconduct finding on.

I went through something similar last year. If you have documentation showing it was a mass layoff (emails about budget cuts, termination letters mentioning layoffs, etc.), that's strong evidence against misconduct. You can request your complete unemployment file through a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request to NYS DOL - just submit Form IA 4.3 or send a written request to their FOIL office. This will show you exactly what your employer reported and what evidence they used for the misconduct determination. Sometimes employers incorrectly report layoffs as terminations for cause, and having your file can help you identify discrepancies to challenge.