How many weeks does it take to get unemployment approved by NYS Department of Labor?
I submitted my initial unemployment claim about 2 weeks ago after getting laid off from my restaurant job. My claim is still showing as pending and I haven't received any payments yet. I'm starting to stress about rent coming up. For those who've been through this process recently, how many weeks does it typically take to get your first unemployment check from NYS Department of Labor? I thought it was supposed to be faster than this.
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Sophia Gabriel
The timing really depends on whether your claim goes into adjudication or not. If everything is straightforward, you should see your first payment within 2-3 weeks after filing. However, if there are any issues that need investigation (like questions about your separation from work), it can take 4-6 weeks or even longer. Have you checked your my.ny.gov account to see if there are any outstanding issues listed?
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Vince Eh
•I checked and it just says 'claim pending' with no specific issues mentioned. Should I be worried that it's been 2 weeks already?
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Tobias Lancaster
ugh the waiting is the worst part!! took me almost a month to get my first check last year and that was WITH calling them every single day
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Ezra Beard
From my experience helping people with unemployment claims, here's the typical timeline: Week 1-2 is normal processing, Week 3-4 might indicate adjudication, Week 5+ usually means there's a specific issue that needs resolution. Since you're only at 2 weeks, you're still within the normal range. The key is making sure you continue filing your weekly claims even while the initial claim is pending.
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Statiia Aarssizan
•Wait, you have to file weekly claims even before your initial claim is approved? I didn't know that! I've been waiting to start the weekly claims until I heard back.
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Ezra Beard
•Yes, absolutely! You need to file weekly claims starting from your first week of unemployment, even if your initial claim is still pending. Otherwise you could lose those weeks of benefits.
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Reginald Blackwell
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to check on your claim status, I had success using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was stuck waiting for 3 weeks with no updates and got answers within a day of using their service.
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Vince Eh
•Never heard of that before. Is it legit? I'm getting desperate to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor.
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Aria Khan
•I used Claimyr too when I couldn't get through the regular phone lines. It's real and actually worked for me. Much better than sitting on hold for hours just to get disconnected.
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Everett Tutum
The whole system is a joke honestly. They make you jump through hoops and then take forever to process anything. I know people who waited 8 weeks just to find out there was some tiny paperwork issue.
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