My son's ny unemployment claim stuck in review for 24+ weeks with no payments

Same boat as ur son. Was waiting 19 weeks before I finally got paid. The system is completely broken. I called almost every day and always got different answers from different ppl. Most of them had no clue what was goin on.

After struggling with the phone lines for weeks, I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual person at unemployment. Talking to a live agent got my payments released within days after being stuck for months! This was seriously the best investment I made to get my benefits flowing. Check out their process here: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

Have your son contact his local state assembly person or senator. My claim was stuck for 12 weeks and my assemblyman's office got it resolved in 10 days. They have special contacts at unemployment that regular people don't have access to.

UGH the "specialist will call you back" line is such BS. They told me the same thing 3 different times and no one EVER called. They just say that to get you off the phone. Your son needs to be more aggressive - call EVERY DAY and don't take no for an answer.

Look, here's what ur son needs to do - I went through this exact thing. The key is to call at 7:58am exactly (2 mins before they open) and keep hitting 0 when the automated system starts. This sometimes bypasses the queue. Also, ask for a supervisor immediately - don't waste time with the first-level reps. And use these exact words: "This delay is causing me financial hardship and I need an expedited review." Works about 75% of the time.

There might be something flagged on his account that's causing the delay. In my case, my former employer contested my claim which put me in review hell for months. Has he checked with his previous employer to see if they're fighting it?

The wait times right now are absolutely criminal. I'm an employment attorney and I can tell you that NY unemployment is one of the worst systems in the country. Your son should file a formal complaint with both the state DOL commissioner's office AND with the governor's office. Document EVERYTHING - dates of calls, names of reps, what was promised, etc. This documentation is crucial if you need to escalate.

Here is what ACTUALLY works (after I went thru 17 weeks of hell with ny unemployment): 1. Call RIGHT at opening (7:30am) every single day 2. When you get a rep, immediately ask for a Tier 2 specialist - don't waste time explaining to the first person 3. Use the phrase "severe financial hardship" and "facing eviction" even if it's not 100% true 4. If they say they'll call back, get their FULL NAME and ID number 5. If no callback in 48hrs, call again and report that person specifically for not following through 6. File a complaint with your state representative (google yours) 7. As a last resort, try claimyr.com - it costs money but they got me through to a real person who fixed my claim in one call The system is deliberately difficult to discourage claims. You have to be persistent to the point of being annoying. DON'T GIVE UP!

Tell him to check his spam/junk folder in email!!! They might've sent him something requesting additional info and if he missed it, that could be why it's stuck. Happened to me - was waiting 14 weeks then found an email from 2 months earlier asking for more documentation 🤦‍♀️

anyone else think its fishy that so many ppl are having THE EXACT SAME ISSUE? like this has to be a deliberate strategy to save money by making the process impossible. they hope we'll just give up and go away.

I had to upload a selfie holding my ID next to my face to verify my identity before my claim would process. Check if he needs to do ID verification - it's not always clear in the system.

Is ur son logging in EVERY DAY to check messages? Sometimes they send requests for info through the portal but don't email you about it. If you miss responding within 7 days, ur claim gets stuck in limbo.

after wasting MONTHS trying to get through on the phone, I used claimyr.com and got connected to someone who fixed my claim in literally 10 minutes. felt silly for struggling for so long when the solution was so simple.

bro we BEEN knew ny unemployment is trash. system is designed to make u suffer. capitalism babyyy 🙃

Tell your son to DM me. I work at a community legal aid office and might be able to help. We've been handling dozens of cases like this.

Has he tried reaching out on Twitter? Sounds stupid but sometimes publicly shaming them works. Tag the governor, DOL commissioner, and local news stations in a tweet about the situation.

24 weeks?? That's not normal even for NY. Something else is going on. Most likely possibilities: 1. Identity verification issue 2. Employer dispute 3. Out of state wages that need to be verified 4. Prior overpayment from years ago 5. System error that needs manual override I'd suggest using claimyr.com to get through to someone who can actually check the system notes. Normal agents often can't see or don't understand the actual problem codes.

check if he answered any of the weekly certification questions wrong. one wrong answer can stop everything. especially the question about being ready and available for work - if he said no to that even once, it freezes everything.

sounds like he might have an identity verification problem that's holding up his claim. a lot of us had this issue after all the fraud that happened. he needs to specifically ask if he needs to complete ID verification. sometimes they don't tell you unless you directly ask.