NY unemployment backpay calculation wrong? BYE date issue causing payment problems

This is a common issue right now with the NY unemployment system. When you reapply before your BYE date, the system recalculates your benefit amount based on your more recent wages, and if your earnings were lower during the new base period, your weekly benefit amount decreases. This can trigger an automatic overpayment notice for the difference between what you were paid and what you "should" have been paid under the new calculation. You have three options: 1. Appeal the overpayment (file within 30 days of notice date) 2. Request a waiver if repayment would cause financial hardship 3. Set up a payment plan For the appeal, you'll need to argue that you were prompted by the system to reapply early and didn't understand it would create an overpayment. Document everything, including screenshots of the prompt if you have them.

same thing JUST happened to me!! my BYE date was in March too and i filed early bc the website literally told me to, now they say i owe $1843 back. this system is such garbage, why would they tell us to reapply early if it was going to cause problems??? so frustrating

I spent 3 weeks trying to reach someone at NYSDOL about almost exactly this same issue. Kept getting busy signals or disconnected. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they connected me with an agent in about 40 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks. The agent was able to adjust my claim and remove the overpayment because it was caused by their system prompt, not my error. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE - definitely worth it for getting this fixed quickly.

Is any1 else noticing all these problems started happening right after they updated the UI system in January? Seems like every update makes things worse not better lol

Quick question - did you have any weeks where you didn't certify at all? Sometimes that can trigger these weird recalculations too. Just trying to figure out if there's a pattern to when this happens.

just wondering, did u get an email telling u to reapply or was it just a message on the website when u logged in?? trying to figure out if i can prove they told me to do this

To help everyone dealing with this issue, here's what's happening: 1. The NY unemployment system is programmed to prompt early reapplication about 3 weeks before BYE date 2. When you reapply, it creates a new benefit year with a new base period (last 5 completed quarters) 3. If your wages in the new base period are lower, your weekly benefit amount decreases 4. The system then retroactively applies this lower amount to any weeks paid at the higher rate after the new application was processed 5. This creates an "overpayment" that's actually a system design flaw The good news: NYSDOL is issuing internal guidance to agents to approve appeals for these specific situations. When you appeal, specifically mention you were prompted to reapply early by the system and didn't understand it would create an overpayment. Continue certifying at the new rate while appealing.

Update on my situation: After I got through to NYSDOL using Claimyr, they reviewed my claim and removed the overpayment. The agent confirmed this is a known issue with early reapplications. She said they can see in their system that I was prompted to reapply early and that I responded to that prompt. No screenshots needed - they have records of when these notifications are sent to claimants. The whole thing took about 20 minutes once I actually got to speak with someone. My account was corrected the next day and I didn't have to repay anything.

does anyone know if this affects ur ability to get unemployment in the future? like does an overpayment on ur record make u ineligible later even if its not ur fault?

I'm in the middle of appealing one of these too and it's taking FOREVER. Filed my appeal 4 weeks ago and haven't heard anything except an automated email saying they received it. Anyone know how long these appeals are taking to process?

UPDATE: I finally got through to NYSDOL! The rep confirmed this was caused by their system prompting me to reapply early. She said they've been seeing this issue a lot since January and have a special code they're using to fix it. They removed the overpayment from my account and are restoring my original benefit amount! For anyone facing this issue - be persistent in trying to reach them and specifically mention you were prompted to reapply early by the system. Thank you all for your help and advice!