How many days does an employer have to respond to an unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor?
I filed for unemployment benefits last week and I'm wondering about the timeline for my former employer to respond. Does anyone know how many days employers get to respond to unemployment claims in New York? I'm worried my old boss might try to contest it since we didn't part on the best terms. Just want to know what to expect and how long this whole process might take.
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Ryan Vasquez
Employers in New York have 10 calendar days from the date they receive the notice to respond to an unemployment claim. The NYS Department of Labor sends them a Notice of Claim that includes all the details they need to respond. If they don't respond within that timeframe, the claim typically moves forward without their input.
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Sarah Ali
•That's helpful, thanks! Do you know if weekends count toward those 10 days? And what happens if they respond after the deadline?
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Avery Saint
Yes weekends count - it's 10 calendar days, not business days. If they respond late, NYS Department of Labor might still consider their response but it depends on the circumstances. The important thing is that you provided accurate information when you filed your claim.
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Taylor Chen
•I had an employer respond 2 weeks late trying to contest my claim and it didn't matter - my benefits were already approved by then
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Keith Davidson
ugh the waiting is the worst part!! my employer took forever to respond last time and i was checking my account every single day. ended up being approved but those first few weeks were stressful not knowing if they were gonna fight it
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Sarah Ali
•Yeah I keep refreshing my ny.gov account hoping to see some update. Did your claim go into adjudication or did it get approved right away?
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Ezra Bates
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor to check on your claim status, I had success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call and getting busy signals or hung up on.
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Avery Saint
•Interesting, never heard of that service before. Did they charge you for it or is it free to use?
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Ezra Bates
•There is a cost but it was worth it for me since I needed to talk to someone about my adjudication status and couldn't get through any other way. Much better than spending whole days calling repeatedly.
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Ana Erdoğan
Just remember that even if your employer doesn't respond in 10 days, you still need to keep filing your weekly claims and doing your job search activities. The 10-day employer response window doesn't affect your ongoing requirements as a claimant.
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Hazel Garcia
@Sarah Ali - I went through something similar last year. In my experience, most employers either respond within the first few days or don't respond at all. The 10-day window is pretty firm, and the Department of Labor moves things along fairly quickly once that deadline passes. Since you mentioned not parting on good terms, just make sure you have any documentation that supports your side of things (like emails, write-ups, etc.) in case they do contest it. The good news is that the burden of proof is usually on the employer to show cause for termination that would disqualify you from benefits.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
•@Hazel Garcia That s'really reassuring to hear! I do have some emails and documentation from when things went south at my job, so I ll'definitely keep those handy. It s'good to know that most employers either respond quickly or not at all - the uncertainty is killing me right now. Did you end up getting approved even though your employer contested it?
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