NYS Department of Labor unemployment every week - do I have to certify weekly forever?
I've been on unemployment for about 6 weeks now and I'm confused about the weekly certification process. Do I literally have to do this every single week until I find a job? What happens if I miss a week or forget to certify? I thought unemployment was just something you applied for once but apparently there's this whole weekly thing I didn't know about. The NYS Department of Labor website isn't super clear on how long this goes on for.
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Sophia Nguyen
Yes, you need to certify every week to continue receiving benefits. It's called your weekly claim and you have to do it for each week you want to receive payment. If you miss a week, you won't get paid for that week and it can mess up your claim. The system needs to verify you're still unemployed and looking for work.
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Liam Mendez
•That's what I was afraid of. So if I go on vacation for a week I need to remember to still do it?
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Jacob Smithson
The weekly certification continues until either you find employment, your benefit year ends (typically 52 weeks), or you exhaust your maximum benefit amount. You can usually backdate missed weeks if you have a valid reason, but it's much easier to just stay on schedule. Set a phone reminder for the same day each week.
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Isabella Brown
•I had trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor when I missed two weeks and my claim got messed up. Ended up using claimyr.com to get through to an agent who fixed it. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way easier than trying to call myself and getting hung up on.
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Maya Patel
wait so even if your still looking for work you have to keep doing this?? i thought once you got approved you just got the money automatically
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Sophia Nguyen
•No, it's not automatic. You have to actively certify each week that you're still unemployed and available for work. It's the government's way of making sure you're still eligible.
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Aiden Rodríguez
This weekly thing is such a pain. I've been doing it for 4 months and honestly sometimes I wonder if the NYS Department of Labor just makes it complicated on purpose to discourage people from claiming benefits. But yeah you absolutely have to do it every week or you don't get paid.
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Amina Diop
I totally get the frustration! I'm also dealing with the weekly certification process and it definitely feels overwhelming at first. One thing that helped me was setting up a calendar reminder for the same day/time each week so it becomes routine. Also, the good news is that most weeks the questions are pretty much the same - did you work, are you able to work, are you looking for work, etc. Once you get the hang of it, it only takes a few minutes. Just don't let yourself get behind because catching up is way more stressful than staying current!
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Miguel Diaz
•@Amina Diop that s'really good advice about setting up a calendar reminder! I never thought about making it a routine like that. The questions being the same each week is reassuring too - I was worried they would get more complicated over time. I m'definitely going to set up that reminder right now before I forget. Thanks for the tip about not getting behind, that s'exactly what I was worried about after reading @Isabella Brown s experience'with missing weeks.
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Samantha Johnson
Just wanted to add that you can actually certify for benefits online through the NY.gov website which makes it way more convenient than having to call in. I usually do mine on Sunday mornings while having coffee - takes maybe 3-5 minutes once you get used to it. The system will also send you email reminders if you sign up for notifications, which has saved me a couple times when I almost forgot. And yes, you do have to keep doing it every single week until you either get a job, your benefits run out, or your claim year expires. It's tedious but it's just part of the process unfortunately.
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