Need NY unemployment contact for OT dispute - company fired family member after farmer exemption question

Same thing happened to my brother-in-law back in August. Worked at a produce processing plant and was denied OT for 6 months. Try calling 518-457-9000. You'll be on hold for hours tho. 😑

I was having similar issues trying to reach someone at ny unemployment. After days of failed attempts, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual agent within 45 mins. Talking to the agent got my issue resolved and they actually directed me to the right dept for wage complaints too. Best decision ever - check out this video about how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

This is exactly why I left my job at a farm in western NY. The overtime exemption ended and they kept pretending nothing changed. Document EVERYTHING - dates, times, conversations. And if you got any texts or emails about the OT request save those too.

Try 1-888-469-7365 for the wage theft division specifically. They're supposed to prioritize retaliation cases like this.

The whole system is rigged against workers 🤮 I've been trying to get my backpay for 7 months now. Every time I call I get disconnected or put on eternal hold. The NY unemployment system is completely broken.

I work in HR and what they did is 100% illegal. NYS Department of Labor has a specific form for wage claims: https://dol.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2021/03/ls223_fill-in.pdf Fill that out ASAP. For the unemployment claim due to wrongful termination, your family member should apply online IMMEDIATELY and specifically note they were fired after requesting legally required overtime pay. This is constructive dismissal and retaliation. If you're still struggling to reach someone, I've seen several people here recommend claimyr.com to get through the phone systems. It costs money but might be worth it given the amount of back pay at stake. The farmer exemption officially ended on January 1st this year, so they're clearly violating the law. Your cousin likely has a case for: 1) Unpaid wages 2) Damages for retaliation 3) Unemployment benefits Don't let them get away with this!

contact your state representative's office! seriously, they have staff dedicated to helping constituents with labor issues. my assemblywoman's office helped me when i had a similar problem last year.

Quick question - did your family member happen to sign anything when they started the job that mentioned overtime policies? My company tried to pull something similar and it turned out I'd signed something my first day (that I didn't read carefully 🤦‍♀️) that they used against me

The NYS DOL is absolutely swamped right now. I've been trying to get through about a separate issue for weeks. If you're willing to spend a little $ to get this resolved faster, check out claimyr.com - it's the only thing that worked for me after 3 weeks of trying. Got a callback with an actual human who helped.

File a complaint with the US Dept of Labor too! Federal protections are sometimes stronger and they have their own investigators: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/contact/complaints

this is shady af and probably illegal. they can't just fire someone for asking about their legal rights. classic retaliation case. make sure your family member files for unemployment RIGHT AWAY and states exactly why they were fired.

anyone else notice how impossible it is to reach NY unemployment lately? its like they purposely make it difficult so they don't have to pay people 🤔

Get a lawyer ASAP!!! This is slam dunk case for wrongful termination. Most labor lawyers will take it on contingency if the case is strong enough.

i had to call over 200 times to get thru to ny unemployment last month. literally spent 3 days straight just hitting redial. the system is completely broken