Finally got through to complete my NY unemployment partial claim - tips inside!

Congrats on getting through! For weekly certifications, make sure you're really precise about reporting your exact hours worked and earnings - even small discrepancies can cause your claim to be flagged for review. I remember back in 2024 I accidentally reported $384 instead of $348 for one week and my payments got held up for over a month while they investigated. Also remember that for partial claims, you need to be available and looking for full-time work even though you're still employed part-time. They might ask about job search activities during your certifications.

got thru on my 2nd try last week... think they must have hired more ppl finally lol

Omg I've been trying for three days straight and still can't get through!!! Did you call the main number? What options did you select in the menu? Did you have to enter your SSN or anything? I'm so stressed about this because my boss cut my hours too (from 35 to 12!!!) and I literally can't pay rent next month without getting partial benefits approved. Every time I call I either get a busy signal or that annoying message about high call volume. Did you just keep calling back over and over?? I'm seriously about to have a breakdown over this.

when u certify make sure ur somewhere w good internet. site crashed on me twice last month n i had to start over

For your weekly certifications with partial employment, here's what you need to have ready: 1. Exact gross earnings (before taxes) for each week 2. Exact hours worked each week 3. Documentation from your employer confirming your reduced schedule Make sure to certify during the correct timeframe (Sunday through Saturday of the following week). If you miss a week, you'll need to request backdating, which can further complicate things. Regarding part-time work: NY requires you to report earnings for the week you worked, not when you get paid. So if your pay period spans multiple weeks, you need to calculate the exact earnings for each specific week. Also, be aware that in 2025, you can earn up to $540 in a week and still receive partial benefits (this is known as the earnings disregard threshold). Your benefit payment will be reduced by 25% for every dollar earned over $100 up to that threshold.

To calculate your partial benefit when earning $300 in a week with a weekly benefit rate of $372: 1. Subtract the first $100 of earnings (not subject to reduction): $300 - $100 = $200 2. Calculate the reduction (25% of the remaining earnings): $200 × 25% = $50 3. Subtract the reduction from your full benefit rate: $372 - $50 = $322 So you would receive $322 for that week. Just remember that you must be available for and actively seeking full-time work each week, even while working part-time. Document your work search activities for each week in case you're selected for an audit.

So I just completed my first weekly certification and it was actually way easier than I expected! The questions were straightforward, and I made sure to have my pay stubs right next to me. One weird thing though - after I submitted the certification, it said my payment was "pending" but didn't give a date for when I'd actually receive it. Is that normal? How long does it usually take for partial benefits to hit your account?

i went thru the same thing back in december when my retail job cut hours after holidays. word of advice - keep SUPER detailed records of every hour u work and every cent u earn. my manager messed up my hours one week and reported different hours to unemployment than i did. got my benefits held up for 3 weeks while they "investigated" 🙄 ended up having to send screenshots of my timecard to prove i wasn't lying. the whole system is ridiculous

I been on partial unemployment since January and let me tell you it's ALWAYS something new to deal with! One week they randomly decided I "wasn't available for work" even though NOTHING changed from previous weeks when I got paid no problem. Had to call 47 TIMES to get someone on the phone to fix it!! The next week everything was fine again with no explanation. The entire system is designed to wear you down so you'll give up. DON'T GIVE UP - that's what they want!!!

Congratulations on getting through! A few practical tips for managing your partial claim based on my experience: 1. Set a weekly reminder to complete your certification - I do mine every Sunday morning so I don't forget 2. Take screenshots of every certification confirmation page as proof 3. If your hours fluctuate week to week, keep a detailed log of exactly when you worked each day 4. When doing your work search activities, apply for full-time positions even if you're hoping to just stay at your current job with increased hours 5. If your employer offers you more hours that would put you above the $540 threshold, you must accept them or risk losing benefits Most importantly, if anything changes with your work situation, report it immediately. The penalties for misreporting (even accidentally) can be severe.

My daughter had a similar situation last year with her teaching assistant job. The school reduced hours during summer session. One thing that really helped her was keeping a separate calendar just for unemployment stuff. She marked every certification day, every payment received, every hour worked, etc. Came in handy when there was some mix-up about her availability during one week and she had documentation to back up her claim. Might be worth setting something similar up for yourself!