NY unemployment denied - base wage calculation doesn't match my earnings records

Your employer reports your wages to the state each quarter. If the numbers are wrong, it could be because your employer reported incorrectly or there was an error in processing. You have the right to request a wage reconsideration. You'll need to file a Request for Reconsideration form and include proof of your earnings like paystubs or W-2s for the quarters in question. This form is available on the NY.gov site or by calling NYSDOL. The base period is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed your claim. So if you filed in January-March 2025, your base period would be Oct 2023-Sep 2024. Make sure you're looking at the right quarters when comparing numbers.

same thing happened to me last yr!! my employer messed up bcuz they reported my tips separate from hourly or somethin weird like that. had to send in all my paystubs. took like 3 weeks to get fixed but eventually got backpay

The reconsideration process typically takes 2-4 weeks, but it can be longer if they're backlogged. While you wait, make sure you continue certifying weekly (even though you're currently denied). This way if your reconsideration is approved, you can get paid for those weeks without additional delays. Also, be aware they calculate your benefit amount based on your highest paid quarter in the base period. You need to have earned at least $3,400 in your highest quarter and 1.5 times that amount in the total base period to qualify in 2025.

THIS SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST WORKERS!!! My employer "accidentally" underreported my wages too and NYSDOL MADE ME do all the work to fix THEIR mistake! Had to hunt down every single paystub and upload them one by one to their broken system that kept crashing. Then they said they never received them and I had to do it AGAIN. The whole time I couldn't pay rent or buy food!! The unemployment system is designed to deny as many people as possible!!

I had the exact same problem in January this year. The key is getting through to an actual claims specialist on the phone who can look at your documentation while you're on the call. They have the ability to manually override the system calculations when you can prove your case. I spent 3 days trying to get through the phone lines with no luck. Finally used Claimyr.com to get a callback from NYSDOL within about 30 minutes. It was SO much better than waiting on hold for hours. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE that shows how it works. The agent was able to adjust my wages right then while I read off my paystubs, and my claim was approved 2 days later.

i just went straight to nysdol cuz my boss is useless lol. but ya keep certifying every week!!!! thats super important

Reading it over the phone wasn't enough - I still had to upload the documents, but the huge difference was having someone actively working on my case. They told me exactly which documents to upload, created a special link for me to upload them directly to my case file, and then processed them right away instead of them sitting in a queue for weeks. That's why getting through to an actual person makes such a difference.

one time my job put my holiday pay in the wrong quarter and it totally messed up my benefits lol. unemployment is so confusing sometimes!!! like who even knows how they calculate this stuff

The $3,400 amount is for 2025 claims - it increases slightly each year with inflation adjustments. In 2024 it was $3,200 as you mentioned. Regarding the wage calculation method: your base period wages are used to both determine eligibility and calculate your weekly benefit amount. For eligibility, you need to have earned at least the minimum in your high quarter AND have total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your high quarter. For benefit calculation, they use a formula based on your high quarter wages. So if your employer misreported even one quarter, it could significantly impact both your eligibility and benefit amount.

I'm a payroll specialist and see this issue fairly often. Here are the common reasons for wage discrepancies: 1. Your employer might report wages when they're paid, not when they're earned 2. Some employers mistakenly report only taxable wages, not gross wages 3. If you work for multiple employers, one might be missing from the calculation 4. Sometimes bonuses or overtime get reported in different quarters Definitely get your paystubs organized by quarter (based on pay date, not work date) and submit the reconsideration request. Call NYSDOL to follow up after submission - the squeaky wheel really does get the grease with these claims.

i think they also dont count PTO payouts if you left a job... at least that's what happened to me. big chunk of money that didn't count toward my unemployment eligibility! so frustrating

UPDATE: I got through to a NYSDOL agent today (thanks for the Claimyr recommendation - worked exactly as described). Turns out my employer had been misclassifying some of my overtime pay as "non-wage compensation" for some reason. The agent helped me file the wage reconsideration with the correct information from my paystubs. Now I just need to wait for processing, but she said I should expect a determination within 7-10 business days since she flagged it as a priority case. Thanks everyone for your help!

sorry but why are we assuming the employer made a mistake? sometimes people misunderstand how their pay works. i had a coworker who thought his quarterly bonus was regular wages but it's actually classified differently. not saying that's what happened here but just saying...

Great to hear you got answers! Just a heads up that "non-wage compensation" and "incentive pay" often need to be properly reclassified for unemployment purposes. This is a common issue that affects many claims. For anyone else reading this with similar problems: always check your wage statement carefully when you receive your monetary determination. Employers sometimes use payroll classifications that make sense for their accounting but don't align with unemployment insurance regulations. All earned wages should generally count toward your unemployment eligibility regardless of how they're labeled internally by your employer.

This is exactly why I always recommend keeping detailed records of ALL your pay - regular wages, overtime, bonuses, everything. I've seen too many cases where people get denied because their employer's payroll system categorizes things weird or there's some reporting error. The fact that you were making $2,800-$3,400 monthly consistently should definitely qualify you, so something is definitely off with their numbers. Good luck with the reconsideration process - sounds like you're on the right track now!

Just wanted to add that if anyone else is dealing with wage calculation issues, it's worth checking if your employer uses a third-party payroll service like ADP or Paychex. Sometimes the error happens at that level when they submit quarterly reports to the state, not necessarily with your direct employer. I had a friend who discovered her payroll company had been using the wrong state reporting codes for months, which threw off her unemployment eligibility. The payroll company had to file corrected quarterly reports with NYSDOL to fix it. Just another angle to consider if the wage discrepancy seems really off!

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through a similar situation last year. One thing that really helped me was requesting a copy of my complete wage record from NYSDOL before filing the reconsideration. You can do this through their online portal or by calling. It shows exactly what each employer reported for each quarter, which makes it much easier to identify where the discrepancy is coming from. In my case, I discovered that one of my previous employers had reported my wages under a slightly different version of my Social Security number (they had transposed two digits), so those wages weren't being counted at all. Once I had that wage record in hand, I could see exactly what was missing and provide the right documentation to fix it. The whole process took about 2 weeks once I had all the right paperwork together. Definitely keep certifying weekly like others have mentioned - I got backpay for all those weeks once everything was sorted out.