How do unemployment benefits work in NY - complete beginner needs help understanding the process

Okay so here's the basic process: First you file your initial claim on the NYS Department of Labor website. You'll need your Social Security number, employment history for the past 18 months, and reason for separation. After you file, you'll get a determination letter telling you if you're approved and how much you'll receive weekly. Then you have to file weekly claims every week to actually get paid - this is where you report any work you did that week and confirm you're still unemployed. You also have to do job search activities and keep a log. The money comes from taxes your employer paid, so you don't pay it back unless you're overpaid by mistake.

Yes you need to file every week by Sunday at midnight or you won't get paid for that week. You can file online through my.ny.gov or by phone. The weekly claim just asks if you worked, if you looked for work, and if you're able and available for work. Takes like 5 minutes once you get used to it. If you miss filing, you can usually file late but there might be delays in payment.

Just be prepared for the website to be terrible and the phone lines to be constantly busy. I spent 3 hours trying to get through when I had questions about my claim status.

If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone, there's actually a service called Claimyr that can help you get through to an actual agent. They handle the calling and waiting for you - check out claimyr.com and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I used it when I needed to resolve an adjudication issue and it saved me hours of frustration.

For the job search requirement, you need to make 3 work search contacts per week and keep a detailed log. This can include applying for jobs, attending job fairs, networking events, or even creating profiles on job sites. The NYS Department of Labor can audit your job search log at any time, so keep good records with dates, company names, contact info, and what type of contact it was.

One thing nobody told me when I started - if your claim goes into adjudication (which mine did for some random reason), it can take WEEKS to get resolved. Just be patient and keep filing your weekly claims even if you're not getting paid yet.

Make sure you report ALL income on your weekly claims, even if it's just $20 from a side gig. If they find out later you didn't report something, they'll hit you with an overpayment and you'll have to pay back everything plus penalties. The system is designed to catch these things eventually.