Why does my unemployment claim say $0 - NYS Department of Labor benefit calculation issue
I've been checking my NYS Department of Labor account every day since I filed my initial claim two weeks ago, and my weekly benefit amount still shows $0. I worked full-time for almost 2 years at my last job making $22/hour before I got laid off. When I look at my claim summary, it shows my claim was approved but the monetary determination says $0 weekly benefit amount. I don't understand how this is possible - shouldn't I qualify for something? My base period earnings should be enough. Has anyone else seen this happen with their unemployment claim?
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Aiden Rodríguez
This usually happens when there's an issue with your base period earnings calculation. NYS Department of Labor uses your earnings from the first four of the last five completed quarters before you filed. Check your monetary determination letter - it should show which quarters they used and what wages were reported by your employers. Sometimes employers don't report wages correctly or there's a delay in the system.
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Maya Patel
AuthorI looked at the monetary determination and it shows $0 for all quarters. But I know my employer was paying unemployment taxes because I could see the deductions on my paystubs. Should I contact my former employer about this?
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Emma Garcia
You need to request a wage investigation immediately. Go to your my.ny.gov account and look for the option to dispute your monetary determination. NYS Department of Labor will then contact your employer to verify your wages. This process can take 4-6 weeks but you should keep filing your weekly claims during this time.
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Ava Kim
yes definitely keep certifying even with $0! if they fix it later you'll get backpay for all the weeks you certified
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Ethan Anderson
OMG this exact thing happened to me!! I was freaking out for weeks thinking I wasn't going to get anything. Turns out my employer never reported my wages to the state even though they were taking the taxes out of my check. It took forever to get resolved but I finally got my benefits and all the back pay. Don't give up!
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Maya Patel
AuthorHow long did it take to get resolved? I'm already behind on rent and really need this to get fixed soon.
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Ethan Anderson
It took about 6 weeks total but that was during busy season. The worst part was not being able to get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to check on the status.
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Layla Mendes
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor about this wage investigation, I had success using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I was able to speak to someone who could actually look up my case and explain what was happening with my wage records.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
never heard of this service before - did it actually work for you?
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Layla Mendes
Yeah it worked great. I was stuck on hold for hours every time I tried calling normally, but with Claimyr I got through in like 20 minutes and talked to someone who could actually help me understand why my wages weren't showing up.
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Aria Park
The NYS unemployment system is such a mess. They expect us to figure out all these technical issues while we're already stressed about money. Why can't they just automatically verify wages when we file instead of making us jump through hoops when their system doesn't work properly??
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Aiden Rodríguez
I understand the frustration, but the system relies on employers reporting wages correctly and on time. When that doesn't happen, the manual verification process is necessary to protect against fraud.
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Emily Thompson
I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Filed my claim 3 weeks ago and still showing $0 weekly benefit amount even though I worked steadily for 18 months before getting laid off. I submitted the wage investigation request through my.ny.gov like others suggested but haven't heard anything back yet. The waiting is so stressful when you have bills to pay. Has anyone had success calling the wage investigation unit directly, or do you just have to wait for them to contact your employer?
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Charity Cohan
I'm in the same boat as you and Maya - filed about the same time and still waiting on my wage investigation. From what I've read, there isn't a direct number for the wage investigation unit that actually gets answered. The regular NYS DOL phone lines just tell you to wait for them to process it. I've been keeping detailed records of all my paystubs and W-2 forms just in case they need additional documentation. The uncertainty is really tough when you're counting on this money!
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Kristian Bishop
@Charity Cohan @Maya Patel - I just wanted to share that I finally got my wage investigation resolved after 8 weeks! Turns out my previous employer had used a different business name when reporting wages than what was on my paystubs, which caused the mismatch. NYS DOL was able to locate the wages once they did the investigation. I got all my back pay for the weeks I certified during the waiting period. Definitely keep filing your weekly claims even with $0 showing - that s what'saved me from losing those weeks of benefits. Hang in there, it s frustrating'but it does get resolved eventually!
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Angelina Farar
@Charity Cohan @Emily Thompson I m dealing'with this too! One thing that helped me was gathering ALL my employment documentation before the wage investigation even starts. I made copies of every paystub, my W-2, my final pay stub, and even my offer letter showing my start date and salary. When they do contact your employer, having all this ready can speed things up if there are any discrepancies. Also, I called my former HR department to give them a heads up that NYS DOL might be contacting them - they appreciated the notice and said it would help them respond faster. Hang in there, everyone! The waiting is awful but it sounds like most people do get their back pay once it s resolved.'
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Jamal Anderson
@Charity Cohan @Maya Patel - I just wanted to share that I finally got through to someone at NYS DOL after weeks of trying! They told me that wage investigations are currently taking 6-8 weeks because they re so'backlogged, but the good news is that if you ve been'certifying weekly during the investigation period, you ll get'all the backpay once it s resolved.'The agent also mentioned that you can upload additional wage documentation like paystubs (or your W-2 through the) document upload feature in your my.ny.gov account, which can sometimes speed up the process. Hang in there - I know how stressful this waiting period is!
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