How long do u have to file for unemployment - NYS Department of Labor deadline confusion
hey everyone, i got laid off from my warehouse job about 3 weeks ago and haven't filed yet because i thought i had more time. my friend said there's some kind of deadline for filing unemployment claims with NYS Department of Labor but she wasn't sure exactly how long. i keep putting it off because the website looks confusing and i'm worried i already missed my chance. does anyone know if there's a time limit for filing? i really need the benefits now because my savings are almost gone.
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Ava Martinez
You need to file as soon as possible! In New York, you should file your unemployment claim within the first week after becoming unemployed. While there isn't technically a hard deadline that prevents you from filing later, you can only receive benefits from the date you file your claim forward - not retroactively to when you lost your job. So those 3 weeks you waited are weeks of benefits you've already lost forever.
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StarSurfer
•oh no really?? so i can't get those 3 weeks back at all? that's like $900 i'm never gonna see...
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Miguel Castro
The person above is correct - you can still file now but you won't get benefits for the weeks before you file. Go to ny.gov right now and start your claim. You'll need your Social Security number, driver's license, and employment information for the last 18 months. Don't wait any longer! The NYS Department of Labor processes claims faster if you file online rather than calling.
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Zainab Abdulrahman
•This happened to me too - I waited 2 weeks thinking I'd find another job quickly and lost those weeks of benefits. The online filing isn't as bad as it looks, just take your time with it.
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Connor Byrne
ugh the whole system is designed to make you lose money!! they should automatically backdate claims but nooo they want to save every penny they can. i filed 4 days after getting fired and still felt like i was rushing through everything
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Ava Martinez
•I understand the frustration, but the rules are actually designed to prevent fraud. If they allowed unlimited backdating, people could wait months to file and claim they were unemployed the whole time.
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Yara Elias
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I needed to ask questions about my filing deadline situation. If you run into issues reaching them by phone (which is super common), I used a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an actual agent. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. It was way easier than spending hours on hold just to get disconnected.
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StarSurfer
•thanks for the tip! i might need that if i have problems with my claim
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QuantumQuasar
Wait so if I file today but I lost my job last Monday, do I lose that whole week? This is so confusing and nobody explains it clearly anywhere on the NYS Department of Labor website!
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Keisha Jackson
yeah file now! my cousin waited a month thinking he needed to find all these documents first and lost like $1400 in benefits
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