How far back does NYS Department of Labor unemployment pay when claim gets approved?
I just got approved for unemployment after waiting 6 weeks for adjudication to finish. My claim was stuck because they needed to verify my previous employer info. Now that it's approved, I'm wondering how far back the payments will go? Will I get paid for all those weeks I was waiting, or does it only start from when they approved it? I've been struggling financially this whole time and really need to know what to expect.
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Chloe Green
Good news - unemployment benefits are paid retroactively from your effective date, not from when you were approved. As long as you filed your weekly claims during those 6 weeks, you should receive back pay for all of them. The effective date is usually the Sunday of the week you first filed your claim.
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Logan Scott
•Thank you! I did file every week even though it kept showing pending. So I should get all 6 weeks worth of back pay?
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Lucas Adams
same thing happened to me earlier this year - took forever for adjudication but got all my back pay once approved
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Harper Hill
Just make sure you kept filing those weekly claims! NYS Department of Labor won't pay for weeks you didn't certify for, even if your claim was pending. The system should show all your pending weeks once the adjudication clears. You might get the payment as one lump sum or spread across a few deposits depending on how their system processes it.
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Caden Nguyen
•What if someone forgot to file one of the weekly claims during the waiting period? Are they just out of luck for that week?
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Harper Hill
•Unfortunately yes, you can't go back and file for weeks you missed. That's why it's crucial to keep certifying even when your claim shows pending.
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Avery Flores
I had issues getting through to NYS Department of Labor to check on my back pay status after approval. Kept getting busy signals and disconnected calls. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that connects you directly to an agent - there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Got through same day and confirmed my back pay was processing.
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Logan Scott
•Interesting, I've never heard of that. The phone system is definitely frustrating - might check that out if I don't see my payments soon.
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Zoe Gonzalez
The whole system is backwards if you ask me!!! Why make people wait months for adjudication then act like they're doing us a favor by paying what we were owed from the beginning? Meanwhile bills keep piling up and they don't care.
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Ashley Adams
hey at least u got approved, mine been in adjudication for 8 weeks now with no end in sight
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Chloe Green
•Have you tried calling to see what specific issue is holding up your claim? Sometimes there's additional documentation they need that isn't clearly communicated through the online portal.
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Daryl Bright
For future reference, you can also check your payment history and pending weeks through the NY.gov unemployment portal once your claim is approved. It should show a breakdown of all the weeks you're entitled to receive back pay for. The processing time for the actual payments can vary - some people get it within a few business days, others might wait up to two weeks depending on how backed up their system is. Hang in there, the financial relief should be coming soon!
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Amina Sy
•That's really helpful to know about checking the portal for payment breakdown! I'm in a similar situation waiting for back pay and wasn't sure where to track the status. Do you know if there's any way to see estimated payment dates, or is it just a waiting game once everything shows approved?
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