How long do you have to file for unemployment after being fired in NY?
Got let go from my job last Thursday and I'm stressed about missing some kind of deadline. I keep seeing different information online about when you need to file your unemployment claim after losing your job. Some sites say immediately, others mention 30 days, and I'm getting confused. Does anyone know the actual timeframe for filing with NYS Department of Labor after termination? I don't want to mess this up and lose benefits because I waited too long.
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Sofia Ramirez
You should file as soon as possible but there's no strict deadline like 30 days that will disqualify you. The key thing is that your benefit year starts the week you file, not when you lost your job. So if you wait 3 weeks to file, you're basically giving up 3 weeks of potential benefits. NYS Department of Labor recommends filing the week you become unemployed or the week after at the latest.
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Dylan Cooper
•Oh wow, so I'm already losing money by waiting? Should I file right now even though it's the weekend?
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Dmitry Volkov
File ASAP! You can file online 24/7 on the NYS Department of Labor website. I made the mistake of waiting 2 weeks after I got fired last year thinking I needed to 'get my paperwork together' first. Those 2 weeks of benefits were just gone forever. The system will ask for your last day of work and calculate everything from there, but your claim effective date starts when you file.
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StarSeeker
•Same thing happened to me, waited almost a month thinking I had time and lost out on $1200+ in benefits that I'll never get back.
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Ava Martinez
technically theres no deadline but why would you wait?? the longer you wait the more money you lose. i got laid off on a friday and filed that same day online. took like 20 minutes
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Dylan Cooper
•You're right, I'm overthinking this. Going to file tonight. Thanks everyone!
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Miguel Ortiz
Wait, I thought you had to wait until after your last paycheck or something? I've been putting off filing because my former employer said they're sending me a final check next week. Am I supposed to file before I get that?
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Sofia Ramirez
•You can file now and report that final paycheck when you do your first weekly claim. Don't wait for the paycheck - every day you delay is potential benefits lost. NYS Department of Labor expects you to report all earnings during your weekly claims anyway.
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Zainab Omar
I had issues reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone when I needed to clarify something about my claim timing. If you run into the same problem, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an agent quickly. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really helped when the phone lines were jammed and I kept getting disconnected.
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Connor Murphy
•never heard of that but honestly anything is better than sitting on hold for 3 hours just to get hung up on
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