How long do unemployment checks take to mail from NYS Department of Labor?
I just got approved for unemployment benefits after waiting through adjudication for almost a month. My claim status finally changed to approved last week and I certified for my first two weeks yesterday. I'm supposed to get a debit card but I'm wondering about the actual payment timing. Does anyone know how long unemployment checks take to mail from NYS Department of Labor? I really need this money for rent that's due next week and I'm trying to figure out if I should ask my landlord for an extension.
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Douglas Foster
NYS Department of Labor doesn't mail physical checks anymore - everything goes on the KeyBank debit card. Once your weekly claim is processed and approved, payments usually hit the card within 1-2 business days. Your first card should arrive within 7-10 business days of your first payment being issued. You can track the card delivery on the KeyBank website.
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Haley Bennett
•Oh that's good to know about the debit card! So if I certified yesterday, I might see money by the end of this week?
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Nina Chan
yeah the debit card thing is way better than waiting for checks in the mail. I remember my cousin in another state had to wait forever for paper checks but NY switched to cards years ago
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Ruby Knight
Just went through this myself last month. The timing depends on when you certify. If you certify Sunday-Tuesday, payment typically processes by Thursday and hits the card Friday. If you certify Wednesday or later, it might not process until the following week. Make sure to keep certifying every week even if you haven't received your card yet - the payments will accumulate on it.
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Haley Bennett
•That's really helpful timing info. I certified on Tuesday so hopefully I'll see something by Friday. Do you know if there's a way to check if the payment actually processed?
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Ruby Knight
•Yes, log into your my.ny.gov account and check your payment history. It will show the status of each weekly claim - pending, processed, or paid.
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Diego Castillo
UGH the whole debit card system is so frustrating though! I've been waiting 3 weeks for my card and calling KeyBank just gives me the runaround. Nobody can tell me where my card is or when it's coming. Meanwhile I have payments sitting there that I can't access!
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Douglas Foster
•If your card hasn't arrived after 10 business days, you can request a replacement through KeyBank or sometimes through your NYS Department of Labor account. There's also an option to get a temporary card at some KeyBank branches.
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Logan Stewart
I had similar issues getting through to NYS Department of Labor when my payments were delayed. What finally worked was using Claimyr to get connected to an actual agent. They have this system that calls and waits in the queue for you - check out claimyr.com and they have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. The agent was able to see exactly where my payment was in the system and why there was a delay.
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Haley Bennett
•Interesting, I've never heard of that service. Was it expensive?
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Logan Stewart
•They don't charge based on time or anything complicated. The main thing is it actually works when you need to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor about payment issues.
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Mikayla Brown
just wanted to say hang in there! i know its stressful waiting for that first payment especially when you have bills due. the system is slow but once it gets going the payments are pretty reliable
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