NYS Department of Labor unemployment application - when applying for unemployment how long does it take to get approved?
I just submitted my initial unemployment claim through the NYS Department of Labor website yesterday and I'm wondering when applying for unemployment how long does it take to hear back? My last day of work was two weeks ago but I waited to file because I thought I might get called back. Now I'm getting anxious about how long the whole process takes. My rent is due next week and I'm starting to panic. Does anyone know the typical timeline from application to first payment? I made sure to answer all the questions correctly and uploaded my separation paperwork.
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Aria Park
The NYS Department of Labor usually takes 2-3 weeks to process initial claims, but it can be longer if your claim goes into adjudication. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while waiting for the initial determination. The first week is always unpaid anyway due to the waiting week requirement.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
•Thanks! I didn't know about the waiting week thing. So even if my claim gets approved quickly, I won't see money for at least 2 weeks?
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Noah Ali
mine took forever because they needed to verify my employment history. kept getting stuck in some verification process for like 5 weeks. make sure all your employer info is exact or you'll get delayed
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Lucas Notre-Dame
•Oh no, 5 weeks?? What kind of verification did they need? I'm worried I might have gotten something wrong on my application.
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Chloe Boulanger
If you're having trouble reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor to check on your claim status, I used a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an actual agent. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call and getting busy signals.
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James Martinez
•Interesting, never heard of that before. Did they actually help you get answers about your claim? The NYS Department of Labor phone system is impossible.
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Chloe Boulanger
•Yeah, I was able to find out my claim was stuck because of a simple data entry error that I could fix online. Would have taken weeks to figure out otherwise.
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Olivia Harris
The whole NYS Department of Labor system is a joke. They'll find any excuse to delay your claim and make you jump through hoops. I've been waiting 3 weeks just to get someone to explain why my claim is 'under review' with no other details. Meanwhile bills keep coming.
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Alexander Zeus
•I feel you on this. The uncertainty is the worst part. At least give us a real timeline instead of vague 'processing' messages.
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Alicia Stern
Just keep filing your weekly claims religiously, even if nothing is happening with your main claim. I learned that the hard way - missed a week and had to do all this paperwork to get it back. Also make sure you're doing your job searches because they'll ask about that later.
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