How long before I can get unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor?
Just lost my job yesterday and I'm trying to figure out the timeline for getting unemployment benefits. I've never filed before and I'm honestly pretty stressed about money. How long does it usually take from when you first apply until you actually see money in your account? I heard there's some kind of waiting period but I'm not sure what that means. Also do I need to wait a certain amount of time after getting fired before I can even apply? Any help would be appreciated, I need to know what to expect.
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Mei Liu
You can apply for unemployment benefits immediately after losing your job - there's no waiting period to file your initial claim with NYS Department of Labor. However, there is a one-week waiting period before you can receive your first payment. So if you file today and get approved, your first payable week would be next week. The whole process typically takes 2-3 weeks from filing to receiving your first payment, assuming there are no issues with your claim.
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Jamal Carter
•That's actually not as bad as I thought! So I should apply right away then?
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Liam O'Donnell
Yeah definitely apply ASAP because the sooner you file, the sooner that waiting week starts counting. I made the mistake of waiting like 2 weeks before filing and basically just delayed everything unnecessarily.
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Amara Nwosu
Just a heads up - even though they say 2-3 weeks, mine took almost 5 weeks because my claim went into adjudication. They had to verify my employment history or something. So don't panic if it takes longer than expected, but definitely start the process immediately.
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Jamal Carter
•What's adjudication? Should I be worried about that happening to me?
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Mei Liu
•Adjudication just means they need to review something about your claim - could be employment verification, reason for separation, etc. It's pretty common and usually resolves within a few weeks.
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AstroExplorer
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor by phone to check on your claim status, I had success using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They basically handle the calling for you and get you connected to an actual agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me from spending hours on hold.
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Liam O'Donnell
•How much does something like that cost though? I'm already tight on money.
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AstroExplorer
•It's worth checking out their site for details, but for me it was definitely worth it to avoid the frustration of calling over and over.
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Giovanni Moretti
The system is so slow though, even when everything goes smoothly. And don't even get me started on their website - half the time it doesn't work properly. Just be prepared for a lot of frustration with NYS Department of Labor.
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Fatima Al-Farsi
same boat here, filed last week and still waiting to hear anything back
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