NY unemployment confused about out-of-state employer not reporting wages to NYSDOL

Yes, this happens with out-of-state employers sometimes. The problem is that your employer likely reports all their wage data to their home state, not to New York, even though you physically work here. It's a common issue with multi-state companies. You'll need to gather all those paystubs as requested and submit them through your online account or mail them in. Make sure you include your claim ID number on everything you send. The DOL will use these to manually verify your wages and calculate your benefit amount.

i had a similar thing with a pennsylvania company. took FOREVER to get it sorted out. they made me send in like 6 months of pay stubs and then still got my benefit amount wrong lol. good luck

This is actually a fairly common issue with interstate employment. Your employer should be filing a Combined Wage Claim with NY, but many out-of-state employers don't know they need to do this. Here's what you need to do: 1. Submit all requested paystubs as proof of your NY employment 2. Also include your W-2 from last year if you have it 3. Call DOL back and specifically request a "Combined Wage Claim investigation" 4. Ask them to check if your employer filed an "employer registration" with NYS The verification typically takes 2-3 weeks if all documentation is submitted properly. Be very persistent in following up, as these claims often get delayed without regular monitoring.

OMG I had THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM last year with my Michigan-based employer!!! I work remotely from NY and they had ZERO record of my wages! It was a NIGHTMARE trying to get benefits. I called like 50 times and could never get through to anyone. I was about to give up when someone told me about this service called Claimyr that helped me actually get through to a rep without waiting all day. You can check them out at claimyr.com - they have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE Once I finally got through to someone, they helped me file a wage investigation and I had to send in all my paystubs too. It took about 3 weeks after that to get my benefits sorted out. The key was getting to talk to an actual person who knew what they were doing!

wait so your a college worker? dont you qualify for the special education employee benefits in ny? my cousin works at a HS and got some special unemployment thing for school workers

THIS IS EXACTLY WHY THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!! I went through something similar with a Florida company I worked for remotely from NY. Had to jump through ENDLESS HOOPS just to get what I was entitled to. They made it SO COMPLICATED that most people would just give up. The DOL knows this and they DO IT ON PURPOSE to save money by denying valid claims!!!!! My advice: document EVERYTHING. Record every call if you can (NY is one-party consent). Send everything with delivery confirmation. And be prepared to FIGHT for weeks to get your benefits!!

I'm going through this exact situation right now with my claim from February 2025. I work for a company based in New Jersey but I work from my apartment in Brooklyn. What worked for me was: 1. Submitted all my paystubs through the document upload section in my online account 2. Specifically labeled them as "Out of State Employer Wage Verification" 3. Called DOL three times until I got someone who knew how to handle interstate claims 4. They had to initiate what they called a "wage investigation" It's been about 3 weeks now and I just got notification that my benefit amount has been correctly calculated. So it does get resolved, but it definitely takes longer than a normal claim. Keep certifying every week while you wait!

One more important thing - make sure your out-of-state employer doesn't contest your claim or say you're not eligible for NY benefits. Sometimes they'll try to argue that you should file in their state instead. If that happens, you'll need to clearly document that you physically performed the work in New York State. Save any emails or documents that show your work location.

anybody else notice how the unemployment system is like 100 years behind on dealing with how people actually work today?? like remote work and out of state companies is normal now but the system acts like its 1950 still lol

Update: I called DOL again today and specifically asked about the Combined Wage Claim that someone mentioned here. The rep knew exactly what I was talking about and said that's what I need! She's starting that process now and said it typically takes 2-3 weeks to get the wage information from my employer's state. I also uploaded all my paystubs and W-2s to my online account and labeled them as "Out of State Employer Wage Verification" as suggested. Thanks everyone for your help with this!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now! I work remotely for a Texas-based company but live in Buffalo. When I filed my claim last month, NY had no record of my wages either - only my weekend gig at a local restaurant showed up. The DOL rep I spoke with explained that this happens because employers often don't realize they need to report wages to both their home state AND the state where the employee actually works. I had to submit 18 months of paystubs (they wanted more than just 12 months in my case). The good news is that once you get the Combined Wage Claim process started like you did, it really does move along. I'm about 2 weeks into my wage investigation and they told me I should hear back within the next week or so. Keep certifying weekly and don't get discouraged - you'll get your benefits, it just takes longer with out-of-state employers!

I just went through this exact same issue with my Virginia-based employer about 6 months ago! The frustrating part is that your employer IS paying unemployment taxes - they're just paying them to their home state instead of New York. What helped speed up my process was calling the DOL wage records department directly (not the general claims line) at 518-457-2635. They were able to tell me exactly what stage my Combined Wage Claim was in and what additional documentation they needed. Also, when you submit your paystubs, make sure they clearly show your NY address - sometimes that helps prove work location. The whole process took about 4 weeks for me, but I did get all my back pay once it was resolved. Hang in there!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar boat - just filed my claim last week after being laid off from a Colorado-based company I work for remotely from Rochester. The DOL rep I spoke with had zero record of my wages and seemed confused about how to handle it. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it sounds like I need to specifically ask for a Combined Wage Claim investigation and gather all my paystubs from the past year. It's frustrating that this is such a common issue but there's no clear guidance on the DOL website about it. For anyone else dealing with this, it seems like the key steps are: 1) Ask specifically for Combined Wage Claim, 2) Submit all paystubs with clear labeling, 3) Keep detailed records, and 4) Be persistent with follow-up calls. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's made me feel less alone in this process!

This thread is so helpful - I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation! I just got laid off from a company based in Ohio but I work remotely from Syracuse. When I called DOL yesterday, they had no wage records for my main employer either, just like what happened to you. The rep seemed completely clueless about interstate employment and just told me to "send in some paystubs" without any specific guidance. Reading through everyone's experiences here, I now realize I need to ask specifically for a Combined Wage Claim investigation and be much more organized about how I submit my documentation. It's crazy how common this issue is but there's basically no information about it on the DOL website. For anyone else dealing with this - definitely save this thread! The advice about labeling documents specifically as "Out of State Employer Wage Verification" and getting a case number for tracking seems really important. I'm going to call back tomorrow armed with all this information. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it's given me hope that this will eventually get resolved!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm dealing with the exact same situation - just filed my claim after being laid off from a remote position with a company based in North Carolina, but I work from my home office in Long Island. The DOL rep I spoke with yesterday had absolutely no record of my wages from my main employer, only from a small freelance gig I do locally. She told me to mail in paystubs but didn't give me any specific instructions about how to label them or what process they'd use to verify everything. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly eye-opening - I had no idea this was such a widespread issue! I'm definitely going to call back today and specifically ask for a Combined Wage Claim investigation using the exact terminology mentioned here. It's really reassuring to hear from people who have successfully gotten through this process, even though it takes longer than normal claims. Thank you all for sharing your stories and advice - it's given me a clear roadmap for what I need to do next!

I'm dealing with this exact same situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I just filed my claim last week after being laid off from a Washington state-based company that I work for remotely from Buffalo. When I called DOL, they had zero wage records for my main employer - only some small contract work I did locally showed up. The rep seemed totally confused about how to handle it and just told me to "send some documentation" without any clear guidance. After reading through everyone's experiences here, I now understand I need to specifically ask for a "Combined Wage Claim investigation" and be very organized about submitting my paystubs. It's really frustrating that this is such a common issue but there's virtually no clear information about it on the DOL website or training for the reps. I'm going to call back tomorrow armed with all the terminology and steps everyone has shared here. Thank you all so much for taking the time to document your experiences - it's given me hope that this will eventually get resolved, even if it takes longer than a normal claim!