How long does it take to get your unemployment benefits approved by NYS Department of Labor?
I just filed my unemployment claim last Tuesday and I'm wondering how long it usually takes to actually start receiving payments? I worked at a restaurant for 8 months before they laid me off due to slow business. My claim status just says 'pending' and I haven't heard anything yet. I'm getting stressed about rent next week and need to know if I should be looking for other options. Has anyone gone through this recently? What's the typical timeline for NYS Department of Labor to process everything?
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Demi Hall
For most straightforward claims, you're looking at about 2-3 weeks from filing to your first payment. The NYS Department of Labor has to verify your employment history and wages first. Since you filed last Tuesday, you should hear something by next week if there are no complications. Make sure you're filing your weekly claims even while it's pending - you can't get paid for weeks you don't certify.
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Elliott luviBorBatman
•Thanks! I've been doing the weekly claims online. Should I be worried that it still just says pending after almost a week?
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Mateusius Townsend
mine took forever!! like 6 weeks because they had to verify my last employer and the restaurant had closed down so it was a mess. but once it got approved i got all the back payments at once which was nice
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Elliott luviBorBatman
•Oh no, my restaurant is still open so hopefully that won't be an issue. Did you have to do anything special or just wait it out?
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Mateusius Townsend
•i had to send in some pay stubs and stuff but mostly just waited. the worst part was not being able to get through when i called
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Kara Yoshida
If you need to speak with someone at NYS Department of Labor about your claim status, I had good luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I was stuck trying to call for weeks and this got me connected in like 20 minutes. Really helpful when you need to check on delays or get specific information about your case.
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Philip Cowan
•Wait, is that legit? I've been calling for days and keep getting the busy signal or getting hung up on after waiting forever.
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Kara Yoshida
•Yeah it's real, they basically handle the calling process for you so you don't have to sit there hitting redial. Was worth it for me when I needed to resolve an issue with my claim.
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Caesar Grant
The whole system is broken honestly. They say 2-3 weeks but I know people who waited 2 months. And don't even get me started on trying to reach someone by phone - it's like they don't want to help people. Make sure you keep documenting everything and save screenshots of your claim status.
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Lena Schultz
•This! Screenshot everything. I had an issue where they said I never filed weekly claims but I had proof.
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Gemma Andrews
Just went through this in December. Filed on a Monday, got approved the following Friday, first payment hit my account the Tuesday after that. So about 11 days total. Restaurant work usually processes pretty quickly since the wage reporting is straightforward. Keep filing your weekly claims and you should see movement soon.
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Elliott luviBorBatman
•That's reassuring! Did you get any notifications when it was approved or did you just have to keep checking your account?
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Gemma Andrews
•I got an email notification when the status changed and then another when the payment was processed. Check your my.ny.gov account regularly too.
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AstroAlpha
I'm in a similar situation - filed my claim about 10 days ago and still showing pending. From what I've been reading online, it seems like the processing times can vary a lot depending on your specific case. One thing I learned is that if you were laid off (not fired for cause), that usually helps speed things up since there's no dispute about eligibility. Since you mentioned you were laid off due to slow business, that should work in your favor. I'd suggest checking your account daily and maybe try calling early in the morning around 8am when they open - that's when I've had the best luck getting through to someone. Hang in there!
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Yara Sabbagh
•Thanks for the tip about calling at 8am! I've been trying random times during the day and getting nowhere. Good point about the layoff vs firing thing too - hopefully that does help speed things up. It's just nerve-wracking when you're counting on that money and have no idea when it's actually coming. Did you end up getting through when you called, or are you still waiting to hear back?
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