When will I get paid after filing for unemployment with NYS Department of Labor?
I submitted my initial unemployment claim through the NYS Department of Labor website last Tuesday and I'm wondering when I can expect to receive my first payment. My claim status shows as 'under review' but there's no timeline given. I lost my job at a retail store two weeks ago due to store closure and I really need to know when payments start so I can budget accordingly. Does anyone know the typical timeframe from filing to getting your first check? Also do I need to do anything else besides wait?
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Chad Winthrope
The NYS Department of Labor has a mandatory waiting week, so your first payable week won't be until next week at the earliest. After that, if your claim is approved without any issues, payments typically come within 2-3 business days of filing your weekly claim. Make sure you're filing your weekly claims every Sunday - you won't get paid for any week you don't file.
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Ellie Lopez
•Thank you! I didn't know about the waiting week. So even though I filed last Tuesday, I still won't get paid for this week?
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Paige Cantoni
it took me like 3 weeks to get my first payment but that was because they had to verify my employment history with my old job. if your claim goes into adjudication it can take longer
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Ellie Lopez
•How do I know if my claim is in adjudication? My status just says 'under review' right now.
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Kylo Ren
Since you mentioned store closure, that should be straightforward for approval since it's clearly not your fault. The key is making sure you file your weekly claims on time every week starting this Sunday. Even during the waiting week, you need to file to establish your claim properly. Also make sure you're doing your required job search activities - in NY it's typically 3 work search contacts per week.
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Ellie Lopez
•I haven't started job searching yet since I thought I had to wait for approval first. Should I be documenting job searches already?
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Kylo Ren
•Yes, start immediately! You need to be able and available for work from day one. Keep a log of all your job search activities - employer names, dates, method of contact. You might get audited later.
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Nina Fitzgerald
The NYS Department of Labor phone system is absolutely useless for getting claim status updates. I spent hours trying to get through just to ask about my payment timeline. If you really need to talk to someone about your claim, I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real person at NYS Department of Labor. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration.
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Jason Brewer
•Never heard of that but honestly anything is better than sitting on hold for 3 hours just to get disconnected
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Kiara Fisherman
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO DELAY PAYMENTS AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!! They make you jump through hoops and wait weeks just hoping you'll give up and find a job before they have to pay out. I've been waiting 5 weeks for my appeal decision and still nothing.
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Liam Cortez
•I feel you on the frustration but for a straightforward store closure case like OP's it should go smoothly
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