What does pending fact finding mean for unemployment claim at NYS Department of Labor?
My unemployment claim has been stuck on 'pending fact finding' for almost two weeks now and I'm starting to panic. I filed my initial claim with NYS Department of Labor three weeks ago after getting laid off from my warehouse job. Everything seemed to go smoothly at first, but now when I log into my.ny.gov it just shows this status and I have no idea what it means or how long it's supposed to take. I've been filing my weekly claims but haven't received any payments yet. Has anyone else dealt with this? What exactly are they investigating and should I be worried?
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Sean Flanagan
Pending fact finding means NYS Department of Labor needs to investigate something about your claim before they can approve it. It's usually triggered by something in your application that needs verification - could be your reason for separation, work history, or earnings. The fact finding process involves them contacting you and possibly your former employer to get more details. It's completely normal and doesn't mean you did anything wrong.
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Anastasia Popova
•Thank you for explaining that! Should I expect them to contact me soon or do I need to call them?
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Zara Shah
same thing happened to me when I got laid off in November. took about 3 weeks total before they finished the fact finding and approved my claim. they never actually called me though, just sent some forms through the mail that I had to fill out about why I left my job
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Anastasia Popova
•Did you keep filing your weekly claims during those 3 weeks? I'm worried I'm missing something I'm supposed to do.
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Zara Shah
•yeah definitely keep filing weekly claims even during fact finding or you'll lose those weeks
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NebulaNomad
The fact finding process can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks depending on how complex your situation is. NYS Department of Labor has to follow federal guidelines for investigating claims, so they can't just rush through it. Keep filing your weekly claims and check your mail regularly - they often send correspondence through regular mail rather than just posting updates online. If you haven't heard anything after 4 weeks, then I'd recommend trying to reach them by phone.
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Luca Ferrari
•Good luck getting through on the phone though. I've been trying to reach NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my adjudication issue and can never get past the busy signal. The whole system is so frustrating when you're dealing with bills piling up.
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Sean Flanagan
•If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor by phone, you might want to check out claimyr.com - they help people get connected to unemployment agents. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I used it last month when I couldn't get through about my overpayment notice and actually got connected within a few hours instead of spending days calling.
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Nia Wilson
Ugh the fact finding process is such a pain. They put mine on hold for like a month because my former employer didn't respond to their inquiry fast enough. Meanwhile I'm sitting here with no income waiting for them to figure their stuff out. The whole unemployment system needs a major overhaul if you ask me.
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Mateo Martinez
•totally agree! it's ridiculous how long these things take when people need the money to survive
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
I went through the exact same thing with NYS Department of Labor last year. The "pending fact finding" status is nerve-wracking when you're waiting for benefits, but it's actually a standard part of their process. In my case, they were verifying my layoff details with my former employer. The key thing is to keep filing your weekly claims like everyone mentioned - even though you won't get paid during the investigation, you'll receive back pay for those weeks once it's resolved. I also recommend setting up text alerts on your phone for any mail delivery since they often send important documents through regular mail that you need to respond to quickly. Hang in there - the waiting is the worst part but most claims do get approved once they finish their review.
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