How long does unemployment take to be approved - NYS Department of Labor processing times?
I submitted my unemployment application through the NYS Department of Labor website last Tuesday and I'm wondering what the typical approval timeline looks like. My previous job ended due to company restructuring and I have all my documentation ready. The my.ny.gov portal just shows 'claim pending' but doesn't give any timeframe estimates. I'm starting to worry about my bills coming up next week. Has anyone recently gone through the approval process? How long should I realistically expect to wait before getting my first payment?
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Mikayla Davison
For most straightforward cases where you were laid off, NYS Department of Labor typically processes claims within 2-3 weeks from the date you file. However, if your claim requires adjudication (like if there's any question about why you left your job), it can take 4-6 weeks or sometimes longer. Since you mentioned company restructuring, that should be pretty clear-cut and shouldn't trigger extra review.
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Max Reyes
•That's somewhat reassuring. Do you know if there's any way to check if my claim is in adjudication or just normal processing?
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Adrian Connor
mine took forever!! like 7 weeks and i kept calling but could never get through to anyone at the department of labor. the automated system just kept saying 'high call volume' and hanging up on me
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Aisha Jackson
•That's frustrating but not uncommon unfortunately. If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone, you might want to check out claimyr.com - they have a service that helps people get through to unemployment agents. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I used it when my claim got stuck and was able to speak with someone the same day.
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Ryder Everingham
The real issue is that NYS Department of Labor is completely understaffed and their phone system is designed to discourage people from calling. Even when claims are 'routine' they're taking longer than they should because there's just not enough people processing them. It's intentional bureaucratic friction.
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Lilly Curtis
•I hate that this is probably true but you're right. The whole system feels like it's set up to make you give up before you get benefits.
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Leo Simmons
Just went through this myself in December. Filed on a Monday, got approved exactly 2 weeks later on the following Monday. Make sure you're filing your weekly claims even while it's pending - that's really important or you'll lose those weeks.
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Max Reyes
•Yes I've been doing the weekly claims! Thanks for confirming that 2 weeks is realistic for a normal case.
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