NY unemployment keeps saying I made $0 despite 4 years of work - finally requested a hearing

The exact same thing happened to me!! They kept saying I made $0 when I had been working at the same place for 2 years. I resubmitted my documents THREE times and still nothing. Finally requested a hearing and got it resolved within 3 weeks. The judge took one look at my W2s and was like "yeah this is obviously an error" and fixed it on the spot. Don't give up!

The phone system is useless for anything complicated. I was in the same situation and tried calling for weeks. Finally found this service called claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual person who fixed my claim. Worth every penny when it got my benefits flowing. Check out this vid that convinced me to try it: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

A hearing is definitely the way to go! The NY unemployment system is so overloaded with errors right now. My cousin went through the same thing - they claimed he had never worked at his company of 6 years! The hearing officer fixed it immediately. The regular employees either don't have access to the right systems or just don't care.

Make sure you gather ALL documentation before your hearing. Bring extra copies of everything: W2s from all years, several months of pay stubs, any communication from your employer about the layoff, and your initial unemployment application. The more evidence you have, the easier it will be for them to fix it. Dress professionally too - first impressions matter even in these administrative hearings.

Their system is completely broken. i swear they do this on purpose to discourage people from collecting benefits they rightfully deserve. My records showed $0 too even tho I had W2s showing I made like $45k last year. totally ridiculous 😤

I'm dealing with this same exact problem right now! Did they give you any indication of how long it'll take to get a hearing scheduled? I'm about to be evicted and can't wait much longer 😭

Here's a comprehensive guide to handling this specific problem with NY unemployment (I went through it myself and now help others navigate the system): The "$0 earnings" issue is usually caused by one of three things: 1) Your employer hasn't properly reported your wages to the state 2) There's a mismatch between your SSN in the system and what's on your documents 3) The DOL computer system has glitched (happens WAY more than they admit) While waiting for your hearing, I highly recommend: - Contact your former employer's HR and ask them to verify they've reported your wages correctly - Submit a FOIA request for your wage records from the state (this can reveal the root issue) - Reach out to your state representative's office as they can often expedite claims - If you need to speak with someone directly at DOL, use claimyr.com - it's how I finally got through after weeks of calls The hearing is definitely the right move, but sometimes these steps can resolve it before then. Good luck!

just FYI, the $0 thing is a super common problem since they updated their computer systems last year. the old system and new system don't talk to each other properly. the hearing bypasses all that technical garbage and puts you in front of someone who can actually override the system.

document EVERYTHING. every call, every letter, every email. write down the name of every person you talk to. trust me, this will help you at the hearing. dates and times too! the more specific you can be, the better your chances.

Before your hearing, check if your W2 info matches EXACTLY what's on your social security card. I mean EXACTLY - even a missing hyphen or jr/sr suffix can cause this problem. The system is that fragile. 🤦‍♀️

I cant believe they're still having these $0 wage issues. Its been a problem for YEARS now. My hearing was over zoom last month. Judge fixed it in like 10 mins after 4 months of me trying to convince regular reps. The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing over there.

How did you request the hearing? Online or did you have to call? I've been trying to get this same issue fixed and the website is useless.

Listen carefully during your hearing!! My friend had this exact issue and during her hearing they tried to blame HER for the mistake and almost denied her claim altogether. Be super prepared and don't let them twist things around on you.

i bet if you owed THEM money they'd have no problem finding your wage records 🙄 funny how that works

My sister's a lawyer and says for unemployment hearings you should write out a clear timeline of everything that's happened with your claim. Judges appreciate organization and it makes their job easier to rule in your favor. Just a tip!

Call your state representative!!! I had this exact same issue and was getting nowhere. Called my assemblyman's office and they have special liaisons who can escalate your case. Had my problem fixed in 2 weeks after fighting for months on my own.

you might wanna consider legal aid if you cant afford a lawyer. there are free services that help with unemployment issues. they know all the tricks for these hearings. google "legal aid unemployment ny" and reach out BEFORE your hearing.

I used to work at unemployment (not in NY but similar system). The $0 wage issue is usually because the computer pulls from the quarterly wage report database. If your employer messed up the reporting or the system glitched during import, your wages vanish. An actual human needs to manually override it. Regular agents can't do this - only hearing officers or claims specialists have the access.

Not to bring politics into this, but NY unemployment system has been underfunded for decades. They're running on technology from the 1990s trying to handle modern problems. Of course it breaks constantly. Good luck with your hearing - at least those are run by actual humans not computers.