How long do you have to file for unemployment with NYS Department of Labor?
I got laid off from my warehouse job last Friday and I'm wondering how much time I have to file my unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor. My coworker said you only have like 30 days but I'm not sure if that's true. I want to make sure I don't miss any deadlines because I really need these benefits. Does anyone know the actual timeframe? Also do I lose money if I wait a few weeks to apply?
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Ava Garcia
You should file as soon as possible! While there isn't technically a strict 30-day deadline to file your initial claim with NYS Department of Labor, your benefits are calculated from when you file, not from when you lost your job. So if you wait 3 weeks to file, you're losing 3 weeks of potential benefits. The sooner you file the better.
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Dmitry Popov
•Oh wow I didn't know that! So I'm already losing money by waiting this long? I thought it would be retroactive to when I got laid off.
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StarSailor}
There's no specific time limit but definitely don't wait. I made the mistake of waiting 2 weeks after my layoff and lost those 2 weeks of benefits forever. NYS Department of Labor doesn't backdate your claim to your separation date - your benefit year starts when you file. You can file online at my.ny.gov and it takes about 30 minutes to complete the application.
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Miguel Silva
•Same thing happened to me, waited almost a month thinking I had time and lost out on like $1200 in benefits
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Zainab Ismail
wait im confused about this too... i thought you had to wait a week before filing?? my boss told me there was a waiting period
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Ava Garcia
•Your boss is confused about the waiting week. NYS eliminated the waiting week in 2020. You can file immediately after losing your job, but there might be a processing delay before your first payment.
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Connor O'Neill
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about filing deadlines, I used a service called Claimyr that helped me reach an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Was way easier than spending hours on hold trying to get through myself.
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Dmitry Popov
•Thanks for the tip! I was dreading having to call and wait on hold forever just to ask a simple question about filing deadlines.
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Yara Nassar
Just file NOW. I've been through this system multiple times and every day you wait is money out of your pocket. The NYS Department of Labor website is pretty straightforward for filing your initial claim.
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Zane Hernandez
I went through this exact situation last year when I got laid off from my retail job. Everyone's right - file immediately! I waited 10 days thinking I had plenty of time and lost those benefits forever. NYS doesn't backdate to your last day of work, your benefit week starts when you actually submit the claim. The online application at labor.ny.gov is pretty user-friendly and you'll get a confirmation number right away. Don't make the same mistake I did - every day counts when it comes to your financial security.
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LunarEclipse
•This is really helpful to know! I had no idea that the benefits don't backdate to when you actually lost your job. I'm pretty new to all this unemployment stuff and was worried I might have already missed some kind of filing deadline. Sounds like the key takeaway is just to file ASAP and not overthink it. Thanks for sharing your experience - definitely don't want to lose out on money I'm entitled to!
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