What happens to my pending NY unemployment claims after the September deadline?
So here we are, end of August creeping up and I still have 3 weeks of unresolved payments sitting in pending status since July. I've been on unemployment since April after my restaurant downsized. Everything was processing fine until mid-July when suddenly my payments stopped going through. The system shows my claim is still active but these 3 weeks are just stuck in limbo with no explanation. I've tried calling at least 20 times - either get disconnected or wait 2+ hours only to be told "a specialist needs to review your case" and they'll "escalate" it. Nobody ever calls back. I'm getting really worried because I've heard benefits are changing in September. What happens to these pending payments if they're not resolved by the deadline? Will I lose that money completely? Has anyone else been in this situation with pending claims near a deadline? I need that money for rent!
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Liv Park
they wont just disappear. any weeks you certified for before the deadline should still be processed eventually. the frustrating part is WHEN they'll actually process them 🙄 I had weeks pending from march that didn't get paid until june!
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Charlee Coleman
•That's a relief at least. Did they pay you all at once or weekly when they finally processed them?
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Liv Park
•all at once! it was actually kinda nice getting a big chunk, but obv woulda been better to have it on time. just keep certifying every week on time so you dont miss anything
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Leeann Blackstein
•same here, i had 6 weeks pending and then BOOM random deposit. no warning, no explanation, just money appearing
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Ryder Greene
After struggling with the same issue for weeks, I finally found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me through to a live agent! You basically pay them to wait on hold for you and they call you when an agent picks up. Talking to someone directly was the only way I got my pending payments resolved. It was the best money I've ever spent considering how much I got back in benefits. Check out this video that explains how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE
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Carmella Fromis
•this sounds sketchy af. does it actually work tho?
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Ryder Greene
•Yeah I was super skeptical too! But I was desperate after trying for 3 weeks. They don't ask for any personal info about your claim - they just call NYSDOL and wait on hold, then connect you when someone answers. Saved me like 4 hours of hold time.
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Theodore Nelson
•sounds like another unemployment scam tbh. these pop up constantly promising to "fix" your claims 🙄
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Ryder Greene
•Not a scam - they don't touch your claim or promise to fix anything. They literally just wait on hold so you don't have to. The agent fixed my issue once I actually got to talk to someone.
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AaliyahAli
•I actually tried this service last month when my benefits suddenly stopped. Got through to someone in about 45 minutes. The agent told me there was a random flag on my account they removed and my payments started again the next day.
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Ellie Simpson
I'm in a similar situation but two months behind you. Just started having problems with payments going pending instead of paid. Is there any pattern to which weeks aren't processing for you? Like is it random weeks or all consecutive?
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Arjun Kurti
So here's what I know from personal experience (went through this last year): Pending claims don't disappear when deadlines hit. If you certified properly for those weeks, they remain in the system and you're entitled to them. The problem is getting someone to actually process them. What worked for me: 1. Document EVERYTHING - dates, times of calls, rep names 2. Call right when they open (7:30am) - wait times are shorter 3. Try the callback feature on their website instead of holding 4. Contact your state assembly person (seriously, this works) 5. Be extremely specific about the weeks that are pending when you do talk to someone Also, in my experience, using claimyr.com was a game-changer. They wait on hold for you and call when an agent is on the line. Saved me hours of frustration and within two days of talking to a real person, my pending payments were processed. Don't give up! The money is yours if you qualified during those weeks.
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Charlee Coleman
•Thank you for this detailed answer! I'm definitely going to try contacting my assembly person - didn't even think of that. How exactly did you reach out to them?
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Arjun Kurti
•Just google your district + state assembly and find their official website. Most have forms specifically for constituent services. Explain your situation clearly and include your claim ID (not your SSN). They have special channels to DOL.
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Raúl Mora
•can confirm the assembly person route works! mine contacted DOL and suddenly my 8 weeks of pending payments were processed within 48 hours. like magic.
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Margot Quinn
There should be an FAQ about this somewhere. EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH. someone asks this exact question. No, you won't lose yer munny.
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Evelyn Kim
•no need to be a jerk about it, some of us are new to this system and stressed tf out about paying bills
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Margot Quinn
•not being a jerk, just pointing out that there should be better info available from NYSDOL so people aren't constantly panicking about this same issue 🤷♂️
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Diego Fisher
i had 5 weeks pending in june, called for 2 weeks straight with no luck. finally got through with claimyr.com (saw it mentioned here) and the agent fixed it in 10 mins. turns out there was a stupid flag on my account bc i answered one question wrong on a certification. my advice - TALK TO A HUMAN ASAP
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Henrietta Beasley
I worked at NYSDOL (quit bc it was a nightmare). Here's the truth: pending claims before deadline stay in system. BUT they're not prioritized once new programs roll out, so it can take forever. Best advice is to get someone on phone NOW before September hits and staff gets reassigned to new programs.
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Charlee Coleman
•This is really helpful insight! Any tips for what exactly to say when I finally get someone on the phone to make sure they actually fix it?
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Henrietta Beasley
•Be super specific about dates. Ask them to look for "pending determination" or "outstanding issues" - those are the internal terms. If they say they need to transfer you, politely ask if they can please check if there's just a simple flag they can remove first. Often it's just a small thing.
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Lincoln Ramiro
•omg an actual insider! quick question - is it better to call certain days of the week? i heard mondays are the worst
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Henrietta Beasley
•Wednesday and Thursday mornings were always less busy when I was there. Avoid Mondays like the plague, and never call after 3pm if you can help it.
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Faith Kingston
Check if ur account has a hold on it. Log in to ur account and look for 'outstanding issues' somewhere in the menu. Sometimes it's something dumb like they need u to verify identity or answer a question and they never tell u about it 🤡
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Emma Johnson
ny unemployment is such a broken system that I'm convinced they do this on purpose to avoid paying people. they make it so hard to reach anyone hoping you'll just give up
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Liam Brown
•💯💯💯
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Olivia Garcia
•remember when they upgraded the website and somehow made it WORSE? lolol
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Noah Lee
•yet somehow they find u real quick if they think YOU made a mistake and owe THEM money 🤔
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Ava Hernandez
THIS IS WHY I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE TO SAVE ALL THEIR CERTIFICATION CONFIRMATIONS!!! Screenshot everything, save confirmation emails, write down confirmation numbers. These people will try to claim you didn't certify properly if they can.
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Isabella Martin
had this same issue back in july...turned out my former employer was contesting my claim (didn't find out till weeks later). try calling your previous employer to make sure they haven't filed anything against ur claim.
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Charlee Coleman
•That's a good idea - I'll try calling HR tomorrow. Did calling your employer actually help speed things up?
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Isabella Martin
•yeah actually. they had checked some wrong box saying i quit when i was actually laid off. once they fixed it on their end, my payments started going through again after about a week
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Elijah Jackson
If you have Twitter, try messaging @NYSLabor directly. I was shocked but they actually responded and helped fix my account last month!
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Sophia Miller
•for real?? what did you say in the message? did u have to DM them?
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Elijah Jackson
•i just publicly tweeted them with my issue (not my personal info obvs) and they DMed me asking for claim details. had to verify my identity but they escalated it to someone who fixed it within 48 hrs
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Mason Davis
lmao good luck. i had claims pending for 4 months. FOUR MONTHS. by the time they paid me i had already found a new job and moved to a different apartment because i couldn't wait for them anymore.
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Mia Rodriguez
Don't listen to the doom and gloom. Yes, you WILL get paid for weeks you certified before any deadline. I had weeks pending from February that weren't paid until May. The key is getting through to someone who can actually help. I personally used claimyr.com after wasting days on hold and it was worth every penny - agent fixed my issue in 10 minutes once I actually got to talk to someone.
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