When do you get paid for your waiting week on unemployment - NYS Department of Labor timing?

The waiting week gets paid automatically by NYS Department of Labor, but only after you've exhausted all your regular unemployment benefits OR when your benefit year ends (whichever comes first). You don't need to file anything special - it should show up as a separate payment in your account. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even after your regular benefits run out if you haven't hit your benefit year end date yet.

wait theres a waiting week?? ive been collecting for 2 months and nobody told me about this

I had the same question last year! Got my waiting week payment exactly when my benefit year ended in December. NYS Department of Labor sent it as a separate direct deposit about a week after my last regular payment. Just be patient - they definitely pay it eventually.

If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to verify this, I recently used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was able to get clarification on my benefit payments without waiting on hold for hours.

The whole waiting week thing is such BS honestly. Like we're not struggling enough already and they make us wait an extra week for money we're entitled to. At least they pay it eventually but still annoying.

I'm going through the same situation right now! Filed in late December and just hit my 7th week of benefits. It's reassuring to hear from everyone that NYS Department of Labor does automatically pay the waiting week - I was worried I'd have to jump through hoops to get it. The timing makes sense too since they want to make sure you've actually exhausted your regular benefits first. Thanks for asking this question because I was wondering the exact same thing!

Just wanted to add my experience - I was in a similar situation last year and got really worried when I didn't see my waiting week payment for months. Called NYS Department of Labor multiple times and they kept telling me it would come automatically. Sure enough, when my benefit year ended in March, I got that waiting week payment as a separate deposit about 10 days later. The amount was exactly what my weekly benefit rate was, so it matched perfectly. Don't stress about it - the system really does work, it's just the timing that throws everyone off!

I went through this exact same thing a few months ago and can confirm what others have said - NYS Department of Labor automatically pays the waiting week, but the timing is confusing. In my case, I collected benefits for about 20 weeks before finding a job, so I never exhausted all 26 weeks. I was worried I'd lose that waiting week payment, but it showed up automatically when my benefit year ended in April. The payment came through about a week after my benefit year expired, even though I hadn't used all my benefits. So don't worry if you find work before using all 26 weeks - you'll still get that waiting week payment when your benefit year ends!

This is such great information everyone! I'm currently in week 8 of collecting benefits and had been wondering about this too. It's really reassuring to hear from so many people who actually went through this process and got their waiting week payment. I love how this community helps each other navigate the NYS Department of Labor system - it can be so confusing when you're dealing with it for the first time. The fact that it's completely automatic and we don't need to file anything special takes a huge weight off my shoulders. Now I can just focus on my job search knowing that payment will eventually come through when my benefit year ends. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences!