How long to process unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor - going on 4 weeks now
Filed my unemployment claim almost a month ago and still nothing. The my.ny.gov portal just shows 'under review' with no timeline or explanation. I lost my job at a restaurant in Albany when they closed suddenly, so this should be straightforward but NYS Department of Labor seems to be taking forever. My savings are running out and I need to know if this is normal or if something's wrong with my application. Has anyone else had their claim take this long to process? What's the typical timeframe for getting approved?
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Cole Roush
4 weeks is definitely longer than usual but not unheard of. Regular unemployment claims typically process within 2-3 weeks if there are no issues. The delay could be due to verification of your employment history or wage records. Check if NYS Department of Labor sent any correspondence to your account requesting additional documentation. Sometimes employers don't respond promptly to verification requests which can slow things down.
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Jasmine Hancock
•I checked my messages and there's nothing from them asking for more info. Should I try calling or just wait it out?
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Scarlett Forster
same boat here!! filed 3 weeks ago and still waiting. this is so stressful when you need the money
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Arnav Bengali
If your claim shows 'under review' that usually means they're waiting on something specific. Could be employer verification, wage verification, or they're checking for any potential issues with your separation. Since you mentioned the restaurant closed suddenly, they might be verifying the business closure with the state records. You can try calling but expect long wait times - the phone lines are always swamped.
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Sayid Hassan
•I had luck using Claimyr to get through to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent when I couldn't reach them myself. They have some kind of system that calls for you - check out claimyr.com. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Helped me get my claim status updated when it was stuck for weeks.
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Rachel Tao
The system is completely broken. I've been waiting 5 weeks and when I finally got through to someone they told me my employer contested my claim but nobody bothered to tell me! You have to be your own advocate because NYS Department of Labor won't keep you informed of anything.
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Jasmine Hancock
•Oh no, how do I find out if my employer contested it? The restaurant is completely closed so I don't know who would even be handling that.
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Derek Olson
Check your employer information in the system to see if there are any flags or notes. For a business closure, NYS Department of Labor should be able to verify that independently through state business records, which might actually speed up your claim once they do that verification. Keep filing your weekly claims even while it's under review - you can get backpay for those weeks once approved.
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