How long do unemployment appeals take with NYS Department of Labor - still waiting after 2 months
Filed an appeal with NYS Department of Labor back in October after getting denied for supposedly quitting my job (which I didn't - was laid off due to company restructuring). It's been over 8 weeks now and still haven't heard anything back. My account just shows 'appeal pending' with no timeline or updates. I'm getting desperate here because I've been without any income this whole time. Has anyone been through the appeals process recently? How long should I realistically expect this to take? I'm starting to think maybe I did something wrong with my paperwork.
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Amara Adebayo
Appeals with NYS Department of Labor typically take 6-12 weeks right now, sometimes longer if they need additional documentation. The good news is that if your appeal is successful, you'll receive back pay for all the weeks you were eligible. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while the appeal is pending - this is crucial for maintaining your claim dates.
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PixelWarrior
•Thank you! I have been filing weekly but wasn't sure if I should continue. Do you know if there's any way to check the status or get an update on where things stand?
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Giovanni Rossi
Same boat here - filed my appeal in September and just got my hearing scheduled for next week. So about 3 months total. The waiting is brutal but at least there's movement now.
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PixelWarrior
•Wow 3 months... that's longer than I hoped. Good luck with your hearing! Let us know how it goes.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
If you're having trouble getting updates on your appeal status, I had success using Claimyr to get through to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent. They have a service at claimyr.com that handles the calling for you - there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I was able to get specific information about where my appeal stood in the queue and what documents they still needed from me.
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Dylan Evans
•How much does something like that cost? I'm already struggling financially waiting for this appeal.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•It's definitely worth checking out their site for the details. For me it was worth it just to finally talk to someone who could give me real information instead of the generic status updates online.
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Sofia Gomez
The NYS Department of Labor appeals system is completely broken. I waited 4 months for my hearing only to have the judge ask for MORE documentation that nobody told me I needed. Now I'm waiting another 6 weeks for a follow-up hearing. Meanwhile bills keep piling up and they act like it's no big deal.
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PixelWarrior
•That's awful! What kind of additional documentation did they want? I'm worried I might be missing something too.
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StormChaser
Keep hanging in there! I know the wait is terrible but appeals do get resolved eventually. Make sure you have all your termination paperwork ready and any emails or documentation about the layoff. The more evidence you have that it wasn't a voluntary quit, the stronger your case will be.
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Finley Garrett
I'm in a similar situation - filed my appeal in late September after being wrongfully denied (they claimed I was fired for misconduct when I was actually laid off due to budget cuts). It's now been about 10 weeks with no hearing date yet. The stress of waiting with no income is overwhelming. One thing that helped me was calling my local assembly member's office - they have constituent services that can sometimes help get status updates or expedite cases. Also make sure you're documenting everything and keeping copies of all your correspondence. The system is definitely overwhelmed right now but don't give up!
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Lourdes Fox
•That's a great suggestion about contacting your assembly member's office! I hadn't thought of that approach. Which office did you reach out to, and were they actually able to help speed things up or just get you information? I'm willing to try anything at this point since it's been over 2 months with no movement on my case.
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