NYS Department of Labor fact finding notice - what does this mean for my claim?
Got a notice yesterday saying NYS Department of Labor needs to do 'fact finding' on my unemployment claim. I've been getting benefits for about 6 weeks now with no issues, filing my weekly claims on time and doing my job searches. Now suddenly they want me to provide information about my last job separation. I'm really confused because I already provided all this when I first applied. Does this mean they're going to stop my benefits? How long does fact finding usually take? I'm worried I did something wrong but I can't figure out what.
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Olivia Harris
Fact finding is basically NYS Department of Labor's way of investigating specific details about your claim when something needs clarification. It doesn't automatically mean you did anything wrong - they might have received conflicting information from your former employer or need more details about your job separation. You'll usually get a questionnaire or phone interview where they ask about the circumstances that led to your unemployment. Keep filing your weekly claims during this process unless they specifically tell you to stop.
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James Martinez
•Thank you! That makes me feel a bit better. Do you know roughly how long the process takes? I'm worried about my next payment.
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Alexander Zeus
I went through fact finding last year when my employer contested my claim. They wanted details about whether I quit or was fired, and I had to provide documentation. The whole thing took about 3-4 weeks before they made a decision. Just be completely honest in your responses and provide any documents they ask for. If you were legitimately laid off or fired without misconduct, you should be fine.
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Alicia Stern
ugh this happened to me too!! took FOREVER to get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about what they needed. I was stuck trying to call for days and kept getting disconnected. Super frustrating when you're already stressed about money
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Gabriel Graham
•If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone, I actually found this service called Claimyr that helps you get through to unemployment agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I used it when I couldn't get through during my adjudication and it saved me hours of calling. Check out claimyr.com - it was super easy to use and I finally got to talk to someone who could explain what documents I needed for my fact finding.
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Drake
Wait, so if they're doing fact finding does that mean my employer is trying to fight my claim? I thought everything was settled when I got approved initially. This is making me so anxious - what if they decide I don't qualify and want me to pay everything back?
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Olivia Harris
•Not necessarily! Fact finding can be triggered for lots of reasons - sometimes it's just routine quality control or they need to verify something for their records. Your employer might have contested it, but it could also be completely unrelated. Don't panic until you know what specific information they're looking for.
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Sarah Jones
Just respond honestly and quickly to whatever they send you. The worst thing you can do is ignore it or miss deadlines. I've seen people lose benefits just because they didn't respond to fact finding requests on time, even when they had valid claims.
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Dmitry Ivanov
I went through this exact same thing a few months ago - got the fact finding notice after being on benefits for about 2 months. Turned out my former employer had finally submitted their response to NYS Department of Labor (they're supposed to do it within 10 days but many take their sweet time). The fact finding interview was actually pretty straightforward - they just wanted to confirm the details of my layoff and make sure my employer's version matched mine. The whole process took about 2-3 weeks, and my benefits continued during the investigation. Just make sure you respond to any requests promptly and keep all your documentation handy. You've got this!
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