NY unemployment still owes me backpay from 2023 - can't reach anyone

same thing with me but from march 2023. tried calling like 50 times nobody picks up ever

You might want to try contacting your state representative's office. I had a similar situation last year (different issue, but also couldn't get any response from NYSDOL for months). My assembly member's office has staff specifically for helping constituents with unemployment issues. They have direct contacts at DOL and can often get things moving when we can't. Google your NY State assembly rep and give their office a call.

OMG I know EXACTLY what you're going through!! I had to fight for FOUR MONTHS to get my backpay from December 2023!!! The system is BROKEN and they DON'T CARE about us!!! I called literally every single day for weeks and couldn't get through. I even tried calling right when they opened at 8:00 am and still nothing. The worst part is they expect us to just wait forever while bills pile up. It's absolutely RIDICULOUS that they can just ignore people like this!!! 😡😡😡

I had this happen with my claim from October 2023. Turns out there was an issue with the employer response on those specific weeks, and my account got flagged for review. What finally worked for me was using Claimyr to get through to an agent. You might have seen it mentioned here before - claimyr.com - it's basically a service that navigates the phone system for you and calls you back when they've got an agent on the line. I was super skeptical but I was desperate after trying for months. Their video demo (https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE) shows how it works. Got through to an actual person who fixed my backpay issue on the spot. Sometimes you just need to talk to the right agent who can see what's holding up your specific payments.

This is actually a known issue with claims from early-mid 2023, especially if your claim involved any missing weeks or had any discrepancies in employer reporting. The issue is that your backpay weeks are likely stuck in what's called the "adjudication queue" waiting for manual review. Unfortunately, after a certain amount of time, these can get automatically archived and need special handling. Here's what you should do: 1. Document everything - exact weeks missing, confirmation numbers of any messages you've sent, dates you've called, etc. 2. Send a specific message through your NY.gov account with the subject line "URGENT: BACKPAY RESOLUTION REQUEST" and include all the documentation. 3. If you can reach someone by phone, ask specifically for a "Tier 2 payment specialist" - regular agents often can't access archived payment issues. 4. File a formal written request for determination (Form TC-403E) which you can download from the NYSDOL website. This forces them to respond within 30 days by law. 5. As someone else mentioned, contacting your state representative is extremely effective. The good news is that there's no time limit on collecting backpay you're legitimately owed, so don't give up! The system is designed to frustrate people into abandoning their claims, but persistence will pay off.

My sister had a similar issue last year and she ended up going in person to a NY Career Center. They don't technically handle unemployment directly but sometimes they have DOL staff on site who can look things up for you. Might be worth checking if there's one near you? At least then you're talking to a real person who might be able to point you in the right direction.

Thank you everyone for the amazing suggestions! I'm going to try a few different approaches: 1. Fill out that Form TC-403E right away 2. Contact my state assembly rep this afternoon 3. Try sending another message with that specific subject line 4. Consider Claimyr if I still can't get through I'll update here if any of these methods work. Really appreciate all the help - this has been stressing me out for too long!

Quick update - I just saw your post and wanted to mention something important. If you do contact your state representative, make sure to highlight how long you've been trying to resolve this (almost 2 years). Representatives' offices prioritize cases based partly on urgency and time elapsed. Also, be prepared with your NY.gov ID number, the exact weeks you're missing payments for, and documentation of your attempts to contact DOL. The more organized your information is, the faster they can help you.

I had a similar issue but was missing payments from November 2023. What ended up working for me was sending a direct email to the Commissioner's Office (I found the email address on the NYSDOL website contact page). I didn't get a response to my email, but about 10 days later I got a call from someone at the DOL who said they were following up on my email to the Commissioner. They fixed my issue on that call and I got my missing payments the following week. I think sometimes you need to escalate beyond the regular channels. The regular phone lines and messaging system seem completely overwhelmed.