How to fix active issues on NYS Department of Labor unemployment claim - stuck for weeks
My unemployment claim has been showing 'active issues' for almost 3 weeks now and I have no idea what's wrong or how to fix it. When I log into my.ny.gov, it just says there are issues that need to be resolved but doesn't tell me what they are. I've been filing my weekly claims but nothing is getting paid out. Called the NYS Department of Labor dozens of times but either get disconnected or sit on hold for hours with no answer. Has anyone dealt with this before? What kind of issues cause this and how do you actually get them resolved?
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NebulaNomad
Active issues usually mean there's something NYS Department of Labor needs to verify about your claim. Common ones are employment verification, job separation reason, or wage discrepancies. Check if you received any letters or forms in your online account under 'Correspondence'. Sometimes they mail physical forms too. You'll need to respond to whatever they're requesting before your claim can process.
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Ravi Sharma
•I checked my correspondence section multiple times and there's nothing there. No letters in the mail either. It's so frustrating not knowing what the issue even is!
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Freya Thomsen
same thing happened to me last year took forever to get through to someone. turned out my employer disputed my claim and i had no idea
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Ravi Sharma
•How did you find out about the employer dispute? Did they eventually send you something or did you have to call?
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Freya Thomsen
•i had to keep calling until someone finally told me what was going on. took like 2 months
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Omar Fawaz
This is a known issue with the NYS Department of Labor system where active issues aren't always clearly communicated. Try logging out completely, clearing your browser cache, and logging back in. Sometimes the correspondence doesn't show up immediately. Also check your spam folder for emails from NYS Department of Labor. If there's truly no correspondence, you might need to request a status review by calling the technical support line instead of the main claims line.
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Ravi Sharma
•Thanks, I'll try the browser cache thing. Didn't know there was a separate technical support line - do you have that number?
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Omar Fawaz
•The technical support number is on the my.ny.gov login page, but honestly they're swamped too. If you keep getting nowhere with regular channels, there's actually a service called Claimyr that helps people get through to NYS Department of Labor agents. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be worth trying if you're really stuck.
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Chloe Martin
OMG this is exactly what I'm going through right now! It's been 4 weeks for me and I'm about to lose my apartment. What if they deny my claim entirely? What if I did something wrong when I filed? I keep reading horror stories about people having to pay back benefits. Should I stop filing my weekly claims until this gets resolved?
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NebulaNomad
•Don't stop filing your weekly claims! Even with active issues, you need to keep certifying or you'll lose those weeks entirely. The active issues are probably just routine verification, not necessarily a problem with your eligibility.
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Diego Rojas
The whole NYS Department of Labor system is a JOKE. They create these mysterious 'active issues' and then make it impossible to find out what they are or fix them. Meanwhile people can't pay rent or buy food. I swear they do this on purpose to discourage claims and save money. Been fighting the same thing for 6 weeks now.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•I feel your frustration but try to stay positive. Most active issues do get resolved eventually, it just takes way too long unfortunately.
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StarSeeker
Had something similar happen last year when I was laid off from my retail job. Turned out they needed me to verify my last day of work because my employer reported a different date than what I put on my application. Once I submitted the correct documentation it cleared up in about a week. Keep trying to get through to someone - the phone system is terrible but eventually you'll reach a real person who can tell you exactly what they need.
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NebulaNomad
I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago. The "active issues" turned out to be related to my previous employer not responding to their request for wage verification. What finally worked for me was contacting my state assemblyperson's office - they have dedicated staff who can reach out to the Department of Labor on your behalf. It sounds crazy but I got a call back within 2 days after weeks of getting nowhere on my own. You can find your assemblyperson on the NY State Assembly website. Also, try calling right at 8am when the phone lines open - that's when I finally got through. Don't give up, these issues are usually resolvable once you can actually talk to someone who can see what's in your file.
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