NYS Department of Labor - how long does a former employer have to respond to unemployment claim verification?
Filed my unemployment claim last Tuesday and it's been sitting in 'employer verification pending' status ever since. My former company laid me off due to downsizing but I'm worried they might try to contest it or just ignore the request completely. Does anyone know what the actual deadline is for employers to respond to NYS Department of Labor verification requests? I really need to know if I should be concerned about this delay or if it's normal. My bills are piling up and I can't afford to wait much longer without knowing what's happening.
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Jace Caspullo
Employers have 10 calendar days from when NYS Department of Labor sends them the verification request to respond. If they don't respond within that timeframe, your claim should automatically be approved as long as there are no other issues. The system usually moves pretty quickly once that deadline passes.
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Adriana Cohn
•Thank you! That's really helpful. Do you know if weekends count toward those 10 days?
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Melody Miles
yeah my last employer took like 8 days to respond but they eventually did... most companies have HR departments that handle this stuff regularly so they know the deadlines
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
•What happens if they respond but provide incorrect information? My previous employer tried to claim I was fired for cause when I was actually laid off.
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Eva St. Cyr
If you're dealing with delays and need to speak with someone at NYS Department of Labor directly about your claim status, I had good luck using a service called Claimyr. They help you get through to actual agents instead of waiting on hold forever. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me a lot of frustration when my claim was stuck in verification.
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Adriana Cohn
•Interesting, I've been trying to call for days but keep getting disconnected. How does that service actually work?
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Kristian Bishop
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU WAIT AND HOPE YOU GIVE UP!!! I had an employer who took 2 WEEKS to respond and NYS Department of Labor didn't do anything about it until I called and complained. Don't just sit there waiting - be proactive about following up!
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Kaitlyn Otto
•Wow that sounds frustrating. Did your claim eventually get approved after all that hassle?
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Jace Caspullo
To clarify the earlier question about weekends - yes, those 10 days include weekends and holidays. NYS Department of Labor counts calendar days, not business days, for employer response deadlines. Once that period expires without a response, the claim typically moves forward automatically unless there are other verification issues pending.
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Adriana Cohn
•Perfect, that means I should hear something by this Friday then. Thanks for clearing that up!
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