Stuck in NY unemployment 'waiting week' for over a month with zero payment
I was laid off from my job back in February and immediately filed for unemployment. My claim was approved in early March and I got the determination letter showing my weekly benefit amount of $432. The online portal shows this correct amount under my summary section, but when I look at my payment history it keeps showing $0 for each week. I've been stuck in what they're calling a "waiting week" status for almost 6 weeks now. I've certified properly every single week. The confusing part is I actually found a new job last week and started working again, but I still haven't received ANY of the unemployment payments I'm owed for those 5+ weeks I was out of work. I don't understand why they'd approve me but then not pay anything. I've tried calling the helpline about 20 times but can never get through to a real person. Has anyone else dealt with this weird waiting week that never ends? Is there some trick to getting my past payments that I'm entitled to?
48 comments
Carter Holmes
omg same boat. been "waiting" for 7 weeks and havent seen a single dollar. my rent is due and im about to be homeless. the system is completely broken. they expect us to just wait forever with no income?? its ridiculous.
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Mia Alvarez
Did you try calling them? I keep getting automated messages saying high call volume then it hangs up 🤬
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Carter Holmes
tried calling like 50 times, either busy signal or it just disconnects me. they dont want us to get thru 😡
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Sophia Long
Have either of u tried calling right when they open? Sometimes that works better
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Carter Holmes
tried at 7:58am and still nothing. its like they dont even answer the phones anymore
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Angelica Smith
After fighting with the ny unemployment system for weeks, I finally found a solution that actually worked. I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual human at unemployment. They made the calls for me and when an agent picked up, they forwarded the call to my phone. Talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast - all those weeks of back pay hit my account 2 days later. Best decision I made after wasting hours trying to call myself! Check out their explainer video: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE
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Logan Greenburg
sounds like one of those too-good-to-be-true scams... did it actually work for real?
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Angelica Smith
100% worked for me. I was skeptical too but I was desperate after 6 weeks of nothing. The agent I talked to fixed my issue in like 10 minutes. All those pending payments came through two days later.
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Charlotte Jones
how much does this claimyr thing cost? seems sus that u have to pay to get ur own benefits 🤔
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Angelica Smith
yeah i get that, but considering I was about to miss another rent payment, it was worth every penny to finally get the $3000+ in backpay I was owed. Just sharing what worked for me after weeks of frustration 🤷♂️
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Lucas Bey
wait hold up - does this actually work or is it just the usual BS? i've been trying to reach someone for 3 weeks...
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Harper Thompson
I used it last month when my claim was stuck. Got through to someone who fixed my issue in minutes. Beats calling 100 times a day for sure.
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Caleb Stark
The "waiting week" is only supposed to be ONE week - it's the first week of your claim that they don't pay you for. If it's been 5 weeks, something is definitely wrong with your claim. There's probably some kind of hold or issue they need to resolve. You NEED to speak with an agent directly to fix this.
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Jade O'Malley
Typical ny unemployment nonsense. They do this on purpose to avoid paying people. I was in the same situation last year and had to contact my state assembly person to finally get it fixed after 9 WEEKS of waiting. Try reaching out to your local rep - sometimes they can intervene and speed things up.
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Hunter Edmunds
this is actually smart advice - my cousin got her issue fixed in 3 days after her rep's office called unemployment for her
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Mia Alvarez
Thanks for the suggestion! Do you just call their office or is there a specific way to contact them about unemployment issues?
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Jade O'Malley
Just call their local office and explain ur situation. They usually have staff that handles these exact problems. Goodluck!
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Ella Lewis
Check if theres a hold on your account. Log in and look for any messages or outstanding tasks. Sometimes they need additional info but dont tell u directly and just put ur payments on hold. Also make sure ur answering the certification questions correctly - one wrong answer can freeze everything.
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Mia Alvarez
I checked everywhere and don't see any tasks or messages. My account just says "waiting week" for all 5 weeks, but I thought waiting week was just the first week?
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Ella Lewis
yeah thats def not normal. sounds like a technical glitch in their system. you NEED to talk to someone. try claimyr.com - worked for my roommate when he couldnt get through
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Andrew Pinnock
THE SECRET STRATEGY FOR NY UNEMPLOYMENT ISSUES: After working in the system for years and now helping people navigate it, here's what you need to do when stuck in a "waiting week" loop: 1) First, double-check that you've properly completed ALL certifications for each week. Even one missed week can cause problems. 2) Look for any outstanding document requests or questionnaires in your online account - sometimes these are hidden under different tabs. 3) If everything looks complete on your end, you MUST speak with a claims specialist. Regular call center agents often can't fix these issues. The problem is getting through to a specialist. Your best options are: - Use Claimyr.com to connect with an agent (this is what most of my clients now use because it actually works) - Call exactly at 7:58am when their system first opens - Contact your state assembly person's office - Send a secure message through the portal (though responses can take weeks) The "waiting week" is only supposed to be ONE week. If you're showing multiple weeks, there's a technical hold on your account that only a specialist can remove. Once they do, all your backpay should process within 2-3 business days. Hope this helps! The system is frustrating but navigable with the right approach.
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Brianna Schmidt
This is gold! 💯 The exact advice I needed when I was stuck last month. I ended up using claimyr.com and got everything fixed in one call.
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Alexis Renard
Saving this comment! Do you know if theyre still doing those callback request forms on the website?
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Andrew Pinnock
They technically still have the callback option, but from what my recent clients tell me, they rarely call back anymore. Most people wait 2+ weeks for a callback that often never comes. Direct contact is still the most effective route.
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Camila Jordan
sounds like ure dealing with what happened to me - my account was flagged for "identity verification" without them telling me. it stayed in limbo for weeks until i finally got someone on the phone who told me they needed more documents. check if thats whats happening.
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Tyler Lefleur
This might sound crazy but try logging in from a different device. My account was stuck showing $0 payments when I used my phone, but when I tried on my laptop it suddenly showed a different status and gave me an option to fix the issue. Their website is TRASH.
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Madeline Blaze
OMG THIS ACTUALLY WORKED FOR ME TOO! Their mobile site is completely broken. Desktop showed me I had an identity verification task pending!
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Mia Alvarez
I'll definitely try this! I've only been using my phone to check.
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Max Knight
make sure u didnt accidently click that u were unavailable for work on any of ur weekly certifications. one wrong answer can put everything on hold and they wont tell u.
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Emma Swift
I was in EXACTLY your situation!! Found a job after 6 weeks of unemployment but never got paid for those weeks. After getting nowhere with calls, I tried claimyr.com and finally spoke to someone who explained the issue - turns out my identity verification was incomplete but they never notified me! Got all my backpay 3 days after the call. Don't give up on getting what you're owed!
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Isabella Tucker
another day, another company promising to fix the unfixable unemployment system lol. did this actually work?
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Emma Swift
Honestly was skeptical too, but after 30+ failed calls myself I was desperate. Agent said there was a flag on my account that only a supervisor could remove. Got $2400 backpay that week. Sometimes u just need to talk to the right person.
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Jayden Hill
Worked for me too! The key is actually talking to a human who can see whats really going on with your claim.
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LordCommander
Ok here's the real deal with ny unemployment "waiting weeks" - the system is programmed to auto-flag certain claims for manual review. things that trigger it: worked for multiple employers, worked in multiple states, had a previous claim, or certain types of jobs. but they dont have enough staff to review all the flagged claims so people wait FOREVER. its broken by design.
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Lucy Lam
This is 💯 accurate. My brother works in the IT dept there and says their system is from like 1992 and constantly puts holds on accounts for no reason.
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Aidan Hudson
Did u quit ur previous job or were u fired? If u quit u might not be eligible but they won't tell u that clearly.
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Mia Alvarez
I was laid off due to budget cuts. And they already sent me an approval letter with my benefit amount, so I know I'm eligible.
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Zoe Wang
Listen friend, I had this EXACT problem in February. The solution? I had to talk to a tier 2 specialist. Regular agents couldn't fix it. After trying for weeks I used claimyr.com to get through, and the agent transferred me to a specialist who fixed it on the spot. All my back payments hit 48 hours later. Don't give up!
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Connor Richards
what is this claimyr thing everyone's talking about? is it worth it?
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Zoe Wang
Basically they call unemployment for you and when they get a human, they call your phone. Saved me like 6 hours of hold time and busy signals. Google them - they have good reviews.
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Grace Durand
hahahaha welcome to NY unemployment! where they approve you but never actually pay you! classic move! 🤡 been there, lost my apartment over it.
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Steven Adams
I fixed this same issue last month. What worked was sending a secure message through the portal AND emailing the commissioner's office at the same time. Use this email: nysdolcommissioner@labor.ny.gov - put "URGENT PAYMENT DELAY" in the subject. Include your name, last 4 of SSN, and phone number. Be polite but firm about needing immediate resolution.
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Alice Fleming
Can confirm this works! I did this and got a call back the next day from a supervisor.
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Mia Alvarez
Thank you for the tip! I'll definitely try this approach as well.
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Hassan Khoury
U need to double check ur Bank info in the system. Sometimes a wrong digit means payments are being rejected but the system doesn't tell u. this happened to me - 6 weeks of payments stuck in limbo cause I mistyped my account number.
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Victoria Stark
they owe me 8k from last year still. good luck getting ur money 😭
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Benjamin Kim
Have you tried using claimyr.com? That's how I finally got my backpay after months of nothing.
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Victoria Stark
gonna check it out, nothing else has worked so far
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