How long to hear back from unemployment - NYS Department of Labor response times?
Filed my initial unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor about 10 days ago and haven't heard anything back yet. My claim status just says 'pending' on the my.ny.gov portal. I've been doing my weekly claims but still no word on whether I'm approved or denied. Is this normal? How long does it usually take to hear back from unemployment? Getting really stressed about bills piling up.
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Ava Williams
The NYS Department of Labor typically takes 2-3 weeks to process initial claims, but it can take longer if your claim goes into adjudication. Since you're able to file weekly claims, that's actually a good sign - it means your claim wasn't immediately flagged for major issues. Keep filing those weekly claims even while waiting for the determination.
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Dmitry Petrov
•Thanks that makes me feel a bit better. Should I be worried that it's been 10 days already? I left my last job voluntarily but for good cause.
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Miguel Castro
ugh same boat here, been waiting 3 weeks now and nothing!! this is ridiculous how long they take
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Zainab Ibrahim
•If you left voluntarily, even for good cause, that will likely trigger adjudication which adds 2-4 weeks to the process. The NYS Department of Labor has to verify your reason for leaving meets their criteria for good cause. Did you document why you left?
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Connor O'Neill
I had a similar situation last year where I was waiting forever to hear back. Calling the NYS Department of Labor was impossible - always busy or got disconnected. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that basically calls for you and gets you through to an actual agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Got connected within a few hours and found out my claim was stuck because they needed additional documentation.
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LunarEclipse
•How much does something like that cost though? Seems like we shouldn't have to pay extra just to talk to someone about our own claim.
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Connor O'Neill
•I get the frustration, but honestly it was worth it for me. Saved me weeks of stress not knowing what was happening with my claim. Sometimes you gotta do what works.
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Yara Khalil
The whole system is broken tbh. They make it impossible to reach anyone and then take forever to process claims. Meanwhile people are struggling to pay rent.
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Ava Williams
•I understand the frustration, but the reality is NYS Department of Labor has been dealing with massive volume increases. The good news is they do eventually process claims and if you're approved, you'll get backpay to your filing date.
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Keisha Brown
Keep doing those weekly claims for sure! That's the most important thing right now.
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Ethan Clark
I'm going through the same thing right now - filed about 2 weeks ago and still waiting. From what I've been reading online, the NYS Department of Labor has been really backed up lately. One thing that helped me was checking if there are any pending issues or documents needed in the portal - sometimes they request additional info but don't notify you clearly. Also try calling early in the morning around 8am when they open, I've heard that's when you have the best chance of getting through. Hang in there, the waiting is definitely the worst part!
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Mateo Hernandez
•Thanks for the tip about calling at 8am! I've been trying to call randomly throughout the day with no luck. Did you actually get through when you called early morning, or is that just what you heard? Also good point about checking for pending documents - I should probably double-check that I didn't miss anything in the portal.
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Carmen Ruiz
I've been through this exact situation! Filed my claim in March and it took almost 4 weeks to get a determination. The key things that helped me: 1) Keep filing your weekly claims no matter what - this is crucial for getting backpay later, 2) Check the "Correspondence" section in your online account daily - sometimes they send requests for info there without email notifications, 3) If you can, try the live chat feature on the NYS DOL website early morning around 8-9am when it's less busy. I know the waiting is stressful but hang in there - once it goes through you'll get all the backpay from your filing date. The system is slow but it does work eventually.
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