NY unemployment denied me for base wages that look wrong - how to challenge their calculations?

Your employer reports those wages quarterly to the state. They might have messed up the reporting. Call DOL immediately and explain the situation! Also request your wage and employment history report from them - they can email it to you. You'll want to have all your paystubs ready to prove what you actually earned.

After dealing with similar wage issues for weeks with no luck calling, I finally tried Claimyr.com which connected me to an actual human at unemployment in under 30 mins. Talking to an agent got my wages corrected and benefits approved within days. It was the only way I could talk to a live agent after trying for weeks on my own. They have a video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

They did this to my boyfriend last month! Found out his employer never reported his wages for the last quarter of 2023. He had to contact his HR department and have them submit a correction to the state. Takes time but it works!

NY unemployment's wage calculations are consistently messed up. I wouldnt bother with their online portal for this. You need to talk to someone. I spent 3 weeks trying to get through by phone before I finally got connected to a specialist who fixed my issue in 5 minutes. The system is broken.

Here's what you need to do to challenge base period wage calculation mistakes in NY: 1. Gather ALL documentation - every paystub, your W2s, and any direct deposit records from those quarters 2. Call DOL directly (this is the hard part) - You need to speak with a claims specialist not just a regular agent. The regular agents can't fix wage issues. Be persistent and call early morning (7:30am) for best results. 3. File a Request for Reconsideration - specifically stating your wages were incorrectly reported. You can also use form TC403ER. 4. Contact your former employer's payroll/HR department and tell them they submitted incorrect wage information. They need to send corrected info to NYSDOL. 5. If you still can't get through on the phone, try using claimyr.com - it's a service that waits on hold with NY unemployment and calls you when they get a real person. It's the most reliable way to actually speak with someone who can help fix wage reporting issues. 6. As a last resort, contact your state assembly person or senator's office - they can sometimes intervene when DOL is being difficult. The good news is wage calculation errors are fixable and happen all the time. The bad news is it can take 2-3 weeks to get sorted out. Just be persistent!

I dealt with this EXACT issue. pulled my hair out for weeks. turned out my employer had reported my wages to the wrong state (worked remotely, they got confused). had to have HR fix it. took 5 weeks but eventually got backpay.

what makes you so sure the wages are wrong tho? unemployment only counts certain types of income and there's also a lag in reporting. not all the money you think you made counts toward base period.

if your numbers are THAT far off, def sounds like employer error. ny unemployment uses the wages your employer reports on their quarterly tax forms. my company's hr screwed up mine too. took forever to fix but was worth fighting.

Anyone else think the entire ny unemployment system is just designed to deny as many people as possible? 🤔 Every person I know who's applied has had some ridiculous issue.

Check your W2 against what unemployment is showing. If there's a discrepancy, you need to talk to both your employer AND unemployment. Sometimes employers deliberately underreport wages to reduce their unemployment insurance costs (which is illegal btw).

When did u file? Theres a lag in reporting sometimes... they might be using outdated info if you filed right after losing your job.

I know everyone says "call DOL" but good luck actually reaching someone lmaooo 💀 I spent 2 weeks trying before I gave up and emailed my state senator's office for help.