What does high unemployment mean for my NYS Department of Labor claim approval chances?
I keep hearing about high unemployment rates in the news and I'm wondering how this affects my claim with NYS Department of Labor. I filed my initial claim 2 weeks ago and it's still in adjudication. Does high unemployment mean they're going to be stricter about approving claims or does it mean they'll process them faster because they expect more people to need benefits? I'm really confused about whether this helps or hurts my situation. My last job ended due to company downsizing so I think I should qualify but I'm worried the system is overwhelmed.
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Jake Sinclair
High unemployment generally means more people are filing claims, but it doesn't change the eligibility requirements for NYS Department of Labor benefits. Your claim will still be evaluated based on the same criteria - whether you lost your job through no fault of your own, if you meet the earnings requirements, and if you're able and available for work. Company downsizing usually qualifies you for benefits as long as you weren't terminated for misconduct.
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Vera Visnjic
•Thanks, that's reassuring. I was worried they might tighten up the rules when more people are applying.
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Brielle Johnson
honestly the main thing high unemployment means for you is longer wait times everything takes forever when theres more claims being filed
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Honorah King
High unemployment periods typically lead to increased funding and resources for state unemployment programs, but there's definitely a lag time before those resources kick in. In the meantime, yes, you'll likely see longer processing times for adjudication. The good news is that if you're eventually approved, your benefits will be backdated to when you first filed. Make sure you're continuing to file your weekly claims even while in adjudication status.
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Oliver Brown
•Wait, you have to keep filing weekly claims even when your initial claim isn't approved yet? I thought you only did that after approval!
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Honorah King
•Yes, you absolutely need to continue filing weekly claims. NYS Department of Labor requires this to maintain your place in line and ensure you get paid for all eligible weeks once your claim is approved.
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Mary Bates
I was struggling with getting through to NYS Department of Labor during my adjudication period last year when unemployment was really high. Couldn't get anyone on the phone for weeks. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a live agent. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Really helped me get answers about my claim status instead of just waiting and wondering.
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Vera Visnjic
•How much does something like that cost? I'm already stressed about money.
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Mary Bates
•It was worth it for me to get actual answers instead of stressing for weeks, but I understand the money concern. The peace of mind was huge though.
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Clay blendedgen
The NYS Department of Labor system is already broken and high unemployment just makes it worse. I've been waiting 6 weeks for my appeal hearing and they keep rescheduling it. Meanwhile I'm behind on rent and they act like it's no big deal. The whole system is designed to deny as many people as possible.
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Ayla Kumar
•That's awful, I'm sorry you're going through that. Six weeks for an appeal is ridiculous.
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Brielle Johnson
just keep filing your weekly claims like everyone said and try not to stress too much about the big picture stuff you cant control anyway
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