What day do you call for unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor?
I'm new to filing unemployment and totally confused about when I'm supposed to call in my weekly claim. I know you have to certify every week but I can't figure out what day of the week I should be calling the NYS Department of Labor. My initial claim was approved last Monday but nobody explained the calling schedule to me. Do I call on the same day every week or does it depend on when my benefit week ends? I'm worried I'm going to miss my window and mess up my payments.
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Ana Rusula
You don't actually call to certify your weekly claim anymore - everything is done online through the my.ny.gov portal now. You can certify anytime after 6 AM on Sunday for the previous week that just ended. So if your benefit week runs Sunday to Saturday, you can certify starting Sunday morning for that week. Most people do it Sunday or Monday but you have until the following Saturday to complete it.
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Noah huntAce420
•Oh wow I had no idea it was all online now! So I don't need to call the NYS Department of Labor phone number at all?
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Fidel Carson
Yeah the phone system for weekly claims ended years ago. Just log into your my.ny.gov account and look for the 'Unemployment Services' section. You'll see a link to certify your weekly claim when it's available. Make sure you have your work search activities ready to enter - you need to list at least 3 job contacts per week.
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Isaiah Sanders
•wait do you really need 3 job contacts every single week?? that seems like a lot
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Fidel Carson
•Yes, it's a federal requirement. You need to document 3 work search activities each week you claim benefits, unless you're on standby status or have a waiver.
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Xan Dae
I remember when you had to call in! Those were the days of busy signals for hours lol. The online system is so much better. Just make sure you certify every week even if you worked some hours - you still need to report them.
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Fiona Gallagher
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor agents for other questions though, I found this service called Claimyr that helps you get through their phone lines. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helped when I needed to talk to someone about my adjudication status.
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Thais Soares
•That actually sounds useful, the NYS Department of Labor phone lines are impossible to get through normally
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Nalani Liu
just do it sunday morning and you'll be fine, been doing mine for 6 months now no problems
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StarSurfer
Thanks everyone for the clarification! I was so confused because I had read some old information about calling in. The online system through my.ny.gov sounds much easier. Just to make sure I understand - my benefit week runs Sunday to Saturday, so I can certify anytime starting Sunday at 6 AM for the week that just ended? And I need to make sure I have my 3 job search activities documented before I certify?
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Sophia Rodriguez
•Yes, you've got it exactly right! Sunday at 6 AM is when the certification opens for the previous week (Sunday-Saturday). And definitely have those 3 job search activities ready - the system won't let you submit without them. I usually prepare my list during the week so I'm not scrambling on Sunday morning. Welcome to the community and good luck with your claim!
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Dylan Cooper
One tip I wish someone had told me when I started - set a reminder on your phone for Sunday mornings! I got into the habit of doing my weekly certification right after I have my coffee on Sunday. It becomes routine after a few weeks. Also, if you ever have technical issues with the my.ny.gov portal, try clearing your browser cache or switching browsers. The site can be a bit finicky sometimes but usually works fine once you get the hang of it.
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