When do you get paid for your waiting week on unemployment - NYS Department of Labor timing?
I filed my unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor back in early January and had to serve the one week waiting period before getting benefits. I've been collecting for about 6 weeks now but I'm confused about when I actually get paid for that first waiting week. Does anyone know if NYS Department of Labor automatically pays it at the end of your benefit year or do you have to do something special to claim it? My friend said she never got hers but that was like 3 years ago so maybe the rules changed?
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Yuki Sato
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.
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StarStrider
•Oh ok that makes sense! So I won't see it until I use up all 26 weeks basically. Thanks for explaining that.
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Carmen Ruiz
wait theres a waiting week?? ive been collecting for 2 months and nobody told me about this
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Andre Lefebvre
•Yes, everyone has to serve one unpaid waiting week when they first file for unemployment in NY. It's the first week you're eligible but don't get paid. Check your payment history on the NYS Department of Labor website - you should see one week marked as 'waiting week' with $0 payment.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
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.
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Jamal Anderson
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.
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Mei Wong
•That's interesting - how much does something like that cost though? Seems like it might be worth it if you really need to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor.
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Jamal Anderson
•I found the value was definitely there considering how impossible it is to get through normally. The peace of mind knowing exactly where my claim stood was worth it.
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QuantumQuasar
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.
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Giovanni Martello
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!
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