How to file an unemployment appeal with NYS Department of Labor after disqualification

You definitely should appeal if the facts are wrong! You have 30 days from the date on your disqualification notice to file an appeal. You can do it online through your my.ny.gov account or mail in the appeal form. For your situation, gather any documentation showing your hours were reduced - pay stubs, work schedules, emails from your employer about the hour cuts. The key is proving you had good cause to leave due to substantially reduced hours.

same thing happened to me when my job cut me from 40 hours to like 8 hours a week. i appealed and won but it took forever to get a hearing date

The appeal process involves submitting your written appeal within 30 days, then waiting for NYS Department of Labor to schedule a telephone hearing. During the hearing, you'll present your case to an administrative law judge. Make sure to include a detailed statement explaining why the decision was wrong, along with supporting documents like pay stubs showing hour reduction, any written communication with your employer about the changes, and documentation of your job search efforts if applicable. The burden is on you to prove you had good cause to leave.

Getting through to NYS Department of Labor by phone to ask questions about appeals is nearly impossible with their call volume. I tried for weeks before finding claimyr.com - it's a service that calls for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Helped me get answers about my appeal process that I couldn't get anywhere else.

Wait I'm confused about appeals vs adjudication? I thought adjudication was the appeal process? My claim has been in adjudication for weeks and I don't know if that's the same thing or if I need to do something else??

Just want to say good luck with your appeal! The whole unemployment system is so frustrating and they make everything unnecessarily complicated.

I went through a similar appeal process last year when my employer incorrectly reported that I was fired for misconduct. The 30-day deadline is firm, so don't wait! I submitted my appeal online through my.ny.gov which was much faster than mailing. For your situation with reduced hours, definitely gather all your pay stubs showing the decline, any emails or texts from your manager about the schedule changes, and if you have any documentation showing you tried to discuss maintaining your hours with your employer, include that too. NYS considers a substantial reduction in hours as constructive dismissal, which should qualify you for benefits. The hearing will be by phone and the judge will ask you and your employer questions about what happened. Stay organized and stick to the facts - you've got a strong case if you can prove the hour reduction made your job unsustainable.

I had a similar experience with hour reduction appeals and won my case. The key thing that helped me was creating a clear comparison chart showing "before" and "after" hours/wages. I documented my regular schedule for several months, then showed how it dropped dramatically. Also include any communication where you asked your employer about returning to full hours - if they said no or gave you the runaround, that strengthens your case. The judge specifically asked me if I tried to resolve the situation with my employer first. One tip: when you write your appeal statement, emphasize that you left due to "constructive discharge" due to substantial reduction in hours making continued employment economically unfeasible. That's the legal language they look for. You should also mention if you had to seek other work to make ends meet because of the hour cuts.

I just went through this exact situation a few months ago - hours cut from full-time to barely part-time, then got hit with a "voluntary quit" determination. The appeal process was stressful but totally worth it. A few things that really helped my case: 1) I took photos of my work schedule/timesheet showing the dramatic hour reduction over time, 2) I saved any text messages or emails where my supervisor mentioned the cuts were permanent or business-related, and 3) I documented how the reduced income made it impossible to pay basic expenses like rent. The hearing was actually pretty straightforward - the judge asked direct questions about what happened and why I left. My employer didn't even show up to contest it, which happens more often than you'd think. The whole process from appeal to decision took about 6-8 weeks for me. Don't let them intimidate you - if your hours were genuinely cut to the point where you couldn't survive on them, you have every right to those benefits. The system is designed to help people in situations exactly like yours.

I went through a similar appeal last year after being wrongly classified as a voluntary quit when my employer cut my hours from 32 to about 6 per week. The whole process was intimidating at first but definitely worth fighting. A couple of additional tips that helped me: Make sure you file your appeal online through my.ny.gov rather than mailing it - the online system gives you a confirmation receipt and tracks your submission. Also, when you write your appeal statement, be very specific about the timeline - include exact dates when your hours were cut, how much they were reduced, and when you ultimately had to leave. I created a simple spreadsheet showing my weekly hours and pay for about 3 months before and after the cuts, which made the impact crystal clear to the judge. One thing I wish someone had told me is that you can continue certifying for benefits during the appeal process even though you're not getting paid yet - this keeps your claim active. If you win the appeal, they'll pay you retroactively for those weeks. The hearing itself was less scary than I expected - just be honest, stick to the facts, and have your documents organized. You've got this!