How to reduce unemployment benefit amount - NYS Department of Labor weekly claim issue
I'm getting more unemployment benefits than I think I should be and I'm worried about getting an overpayment notice later. My weekly benefit amount is $504 but I think it should be lower based on my previous wages. I worked part-time for most of 2024 and my highest quarter was only around $8,200. When I check my monetary determination on the NYS Department of Labor website, something seems off with the calculations. Has anyone had luck getting their benefit amount reduced to avoid future problems? I don't want to end up owing money back to the state.
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Kylo Ren
You should contact NYS Department of Labor immediately to report this. If there's an error in your monetary determination, they need to fix it now before you receive any more payments. You can request a redetermination by calling or filing an appeal if you think the benefit calculation is wrong. Keep detailed records of everything.
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Paige Cantoni
•I've been trying to call for two weeks but can't get through. The phone lines are always busy and I keep getting disconnected. Is there another way to contact them about this?
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Nina Fitzgerald
same thing happened to my brother last year, he got overpaid like $2000 and had to pay it all back with interest. definitely try to get it fixed now
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Paige Cantoni
•That's exactly what I'm worried about! Did he have to pay it back all at once or could he make payments?
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Jason Brewer
I had a similar situation where I couldn't reach NYS Department of Labor by phone for weeks. I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have this video demo (https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI) that shows how it works. Within a day I was talking to someone who could help fix my benefit calculation. Worth checking out if you're stuck like I was.
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Kiara Fisherman
•Never heard of that before but honestly anything is better than sitting on hold for hours. How much does something like that cost?
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Jason Brewer
•It's worth it when you're dealing with potential overpayments. The peace of mind alone made it worthwhile for me.
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Liam Cortez
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS BROKEN! They can't calculate benefits correctly but they sure can demand money back fast enough. I've been fighting an overpayment for 6 months and they just keep sending threatening letters.
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Savannah Vin
•That's rough. At least this person is trying to fix it before it becomes a bigger problem.
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Mason Stone
wait are you sure you're even supposed to get less? maybe your calculation is right and you're worrying for nothing. the NYS Department of Labor uses your highest earning quarter times 26 or something like that
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Kylo Ren
•It's actually your high quarter wages divided by 26, with a maximum weekly benefit rate. If their high quarter was only $8,200, their weekly benefit should be around $315, not $504. There's definitely an error somewhere.
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