How long does unemployment decision take from NYS Department of Labor after filing?
Filed my initial unemployment claim 2 weeks ago and still waiting for a decision from NYS Department of Labor. My claim status just says 'under review' on the my.ny.gov portal. I'm starting to stress because I have bills coming up and no idea when I'll hear back. Is this normal? How long does an unemployment decision usually take? I've been certifying weekly but haven't received any payments yet.
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Edward McBride
The initial unemployment decision timeline depends on your specific situation. Standard claims without issues typically get decided within 2-3 weeks. However, if NYS Department of Labor needs to verify your employment history or investigate the reason you left your job, it can take 4-6 weeks or longer. Check if there are any pending issues listed in your account that might be causing delays.
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Gael Robinson
•Thanks! I don't see any pending issues in my account. Does that mean it should be approved soon?
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Darcy Moore
mine took forever too, like 5 weeks before i got approved. kept calling but never got through to anyone at nys department of labor
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Dana Doyle
•The phone system is completely overloaded. I actually used a service called Claimyr to get through to an agent - you can check it out at claimyr.com. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. It helped me get my claim status clarified when I was stuck waiting.
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Liam Duke
UGH this system is so broken! They make you wait weeks with no income while they take their sweet time reviewing obvious cases. I've been waiting 3 weeks for what should be a straightforward approval. Meanwhile bills keep coming and they act like that's not their problem.
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Manny Lark
•I feel you on this. The waiting is the worst part when you're already stressed about money.
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Rita Jacobs
Keep certifying your weekly claims even while waiting for the decision. If you're approved, you'll get backpay for all the weeks you certified. The key is making sure you continue to meet the job search requirements during this time - NYS Department of Labor tracks this stuff closely now.
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Gael Robinson
•Good point about the job search requirements. I've been documenting everything just in case.
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Khalid Howes
My cousin went through this last year and it took like 6 weeks because they had to contact her old employer or something. But she got all the back payments once it was approved so at least there's that.
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