NYS Department of Labor separation code on claim - what does separation mean on unemployment?
I'm looking at my unemployment claim status on my.ny.gov and it shows 'separation' listed under my claim details. What does separation mean on unemployment exactly? I got laid off from my restaurant job 2 weeks ago due to slow business and filed right away. My weekly claims are going through but I'm seeing this separation thing and don't understand if it's good or bad. The status just says 'separation under review' and I'm worried they think I quit or got fired for misconduct. I definitely was laid off through no fault of my own. Has anyone else seen this separation status? Should I be concerned?
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Aliyah Debovski
Separation on your NYS Department of Labor claim refers to how your employment ended - it's a standard part of every unemployment case. The department needs to verify the reason you're no longer working to determine if you're eligible for benefits. Common separation types include layoff, discharge, quit, or end of temporary work. Since you were laid off, that should qualify you for benefits once they finish reviewing the separation circumstances.
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Ally Tailer
•Thanks! So separation under review just means they're checking that I was actually laid off and didn't quit or anything? How long does this review usually take?
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Miranda Singer
Yeah separation is just the technical term for why your job ended. I had the same thing when I got laid off from construction work last year. They contacted my employer to verify I was laid off due to lack of work and not fired for performance issues. Took about 10 days to clear up and then my payments started coming through normally.
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Cass Green
•Did they contact you during the separation review or just your employer?
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Miranda Singer
•They only contacted my employer as far as I know. I never heard directly from NYS Department of Labor during the review process.
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Finley Garrett
ugh the whole separation thing is so confusing! I've been dealing with this for 3 weeks now and my status still says separation pending. I was laid off too but apparently my employer hasn't responded to their request for information yet. It's really frustrating because I need these benefits to pay rent. Is there anything I can do to speed this up??
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Madison Tipne
•You might want to try calling NYS Department of Labor directly to check on the status. I know their phone lines are always busy, but there's actually a service called Claimyr that can help you get through to an agent faster. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I used them when I was stuck in adjudication and got connected to someone within a few hours instead of days of trying myself.
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Holly Lascelles
separation basically means they're investigating why you left your job. could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on how backed up they are and whether your employer responds quickly to their requests
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Malia Ponder
I remember being so stressed about this same thing! The word 'separation' made it sound like something bad was happening with my claim. But it's totally normal - every unemployment claim has to go through separation determination. As long as you were truly laid off and didn't quit voluntarily, you should be fine once they complete their review.
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