How long for unemployment decision from NYS Department of Labor - been waiting 5 weeks
Filed my initial unemployment claim back in early December and it's been over 5 weeks now with no decision. My claim status just says 'under review' and I haven't received any correspondence asking for additional information. I've been filing my weekly claims but obviously not getting paid since there's no decision yet. Is this normal? How long should I expect to wait for a decision from NYS Department of Labor? Getting really stressed about bills piling up.
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Ava Kim
The standard processing time for initial unemployment claims is typically 2-4 weeks, but it can take longer if there are any issues that need adjudication. Since you're at 5 weeks, there might be something that requires additional review. Have you checked your my.ny.gov account for any messages or requests for documentation? Sometimes they send notices electronically that are easy to miss.
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Emma Garcia
•I check my account daily and there's nothing there. No pending issues showing up either. Should I try calling them?
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Ethan Anderson
ugh same here!! been waiting since thanksgiving and NOTHING. this is ridiculous, people need money to live. the system is completely broken
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Layla Mendes
If you've been waiting that long without any communication, I'd definitely recommend trying to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor. The phone lines are usually swamped but you might get lucky. You can also try sending a message through your online account if calling doesn't work. Sometimes a direct inquiry can speed things up.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
•I've been trying to call for weeks and can never get through! Either busy signal or I get disconnected after waiting on hold forever. There has to be a better way to reach them.
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Aria Park
Actually, I had a similar situation last year where my claim was stuck for about 6 weeks. Turns out they needed to verify my employment history with a previous employer who was slow to respond. I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Within a day of speaking to someone, they told me exactly what was holding up my claim.
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Emma Garcia
•Never heard of that before. Did it actually work or is it just another scam?
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Aria Park
•It's legit - they basically handle the calling and waiting for you so you don't have to sit on hold forever. Was definitely worth it in my case since I found out what the issue was right away.
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Noah Ali
Keep filing those weekly claims even while you're waiting! Once your initial claim gets approved, you'll get back pay for all the weeks you certified. I made that mistake once and had to appeal to get those weeks back.
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Chloe Boulanger
5 weeks is definitely longer than usual but not unheard of, especially this time of year when claim volume is higher. The important thing is to stay on top of it and keep trying to make contact. Document every attempt you make to reach them in case you need that information later.
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Emma Garcia
•Good point about documenting everything. I'll start keeping a log of when I try to call them.
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