NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits delayed due to severance pay - how does this work?
I was laid off from my marketing job in December and received a severance package worth about $8,500 spread over 8 weeks. I filed for unemployment right away but my claim status shows 'pending' and when I call the automated line it mentions something about severance affecting my benefits. I'm confused because I thought severance was separate from unemployment? My former employer said I should still be eligible but the NYS Department of Labor website is really unclear about this. Has anyone dealt with severance affecting their UI claim? I'm worried I won't get approved at all.
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Shelby Bauman
Severance can delay your unemployment benefits in NY but it doesn't disqualify you completely. The NYS Department of Labor counts severance as wages, so you have to wait until your severance period ends before collecting UI. If you got $8,500 over 8 weeks, you'll need to wait those 8 weeks before your benefits start. You should keep certifying weekly though so your claim stays active.
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Josef Tearle
•Thank you! So I should keep doing my weekly claims even though I'm not getting paid yet? That makes sense. Do you know if the 8 weeks starts from when I was laid off or when I first received the severance payment?
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Quinn Herbert
yeah this happened to my coworker last year, she had to wait like 6 weeks for her severance to run out before unemployment kicked in. super annoying but at least you still get the benefits eventually
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Salim Nasir
The waiting period starts from your last day of work, not when you receive the payments. Make sure you report the severance on your weekly certification forms - if you don't disclose it and they find out later, it can cause overpayment issues. The NYS Department of Labor will calculate exactly when your severance period ends based on what your normal weekly wage was at that job.
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Hazel Garcia
•Wait, I'm getting severance too and I haven't been reporting it on my weekly claims! Am I in trouble? My HR department never mentioned I had to report it to unemployment.
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Laila Fury
If you're having trouble getting through to someone at NYS Department of Labor to clarify your specific situation, I had good luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was stuck trying to get answers about my claim for weeks before I found them. Might be worth checking out since severance situations can get complicated.
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Josef Tearle
•Thanks for the suggestion! I've been trying to call for days and either get busy signals or get disconnected after waiting forever. I'll definitely look into this.
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Geoff Richards
The whole severance thing is so frustrating! I got laid off in 2023 and had to wait 10 weeks because my company gave everyone these generous packages but nobody explained how it would affect unemployment. At least you found out early - I didn't realize until week 6 that I was supposed to be waiting and had to deal with a whole mess of overpayment letters.
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Shelby Bauman
Just to clarify for everyone - you MUST report severance on your weekly certifications even during the waiting period. The NYS Department of Labor uses this information to track when your severance period ends and when to start your regular benefits. Not reporting it can lead to serious overpayment issues down the line.
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Hazel Garcia
•Okay I'm definitely calling tomorrow to fix my reporting. This is exactly the kind of thing that would bite me later.
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Chloe Martin
I went through this exact situation last year! The key thing to remember is that your severance basically acts like you're still employed during that period, so unemployment can't start until it's over. In my case, I had 12 weeks of severance and had to wait the full 12 weeks before my UI benefits kicked in. The good news is that once your severance period ends, your benefits should start automatically if you've been keeping up with your weekly certifications. Also, definitely keep all your severance documentation - the Department of Labor may ask for it to verify the exact dates and amounts. It's annoying to wait but you'll get through it!
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Connor O'Brien
•This is really helpful, thank you! Did you have any issues with the automatic start of benefits after your severance period ended, or did it happen smoothly? I'm worried there might be additional delays or paperwork needed when the transition happens.
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Rachel Clark
I'm dealing with a similar severance situation right now and this thread has been super helpful! One thing I learned from my case worker is that if your severance is paid out as a lump sum versus weekly payments, it can affect how they calculate the waiting period. They divide the total amount by your previous weekly wage to determine how many weeks you need to wait. Also, make sure to save copies of all your weekly certification submissions during the waiting period - I had to provide proof that I was certifying consistently when my benefits finally kicked in. The system can be confusing but hang in there!
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Lydia Bailey
•That's a great point about the lump sum vs. weekly payments! I actually received mine as weekly payments over 8 weeks, so I think that makes the calculation pretty straightforward for my case. Good tip about saving the certification submissions - I hadn't thought about needing to prove I was certifying during the waiting period. Did your benefits start automatically after your waiting period or did you have to do anything special to trigger them?
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Eli Wang
I'm currently going through this exact same situation! Got laid off in January with a 6-week severance package and my claim has been stuck in pending status. This thread is incredibly helpful - I had no idea I needed to keep certifying weekly during the severance waiting period. I've been so confused by the automated phone messages and the website doesn't explain it clearly at all. Does anyone know if there's a way to check exactly when your severance waiting period is calculated to end? I want to make sure I'm prepared for when benefits should actually start kicking in.
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AstroAce
•I've been in a similar boat with the confusing messaging from NYS DOL! From what I've learned here and through my own experience, you should be able to call the automated line and it might give you some info about your claim status and timeline. But honestly, the best way to get the exact end date is probably to speak with an actual representative. You could try the Claimyr service that @Laila Fury mentioned earlier - it seems like a lot of people have had success getting through to real agents that way. The automated system and website are pretty terrible at explaining the specifics of severance calculations. Keep certifying weekly though - that seems to be the most important thing!
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Jacob Smithson
I'm going through something similar right now! Got laid off in March with a 10-week severance and my claim has been pending ever since. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been really eye-opening - I had no idea the severance essentially puts you in a "still employed" status for unemployment purposes. I've been faithfully doing my weekly certifications but was getting frustrated not seeing any movement on my claim. Now I understand I just need to wait out the full severance period. One question though - has anyone had experience with severance that includes health insurance continuation? My package includes COBRA payments for the severance period and I'm wondering if that affects the unemployment timeline at all, or if it's just the cash portion that matters for the waiting period calculation.
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