Why is ny unemployment taking forever to tell me if I'm denied?

Same thing happened to me. Applied in October, didn't hear ANYTHING until February. Four months of silence and then got a denial letter out of nowhere. The system is completely broken. They don't care that people need to plan their lives.

I was in your exact situation last year. After waiting 3 months with no answer, I tried this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a live agent. Talking to someone directly got my claim resolved within a week. Best decision I made after wasting so much time on hold. They have a youtube video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE - it was the only way I could get my benefits moving.

Im currently on month 5 of waiting. I've fully given up at this point. NY unemployment is a joke. Pretty sure they just put claims in pending status hoping people will give up and go away.

When I was waiting on my claim last year, I found out that contacting your state representative can sometimes help. They have special contacts at NYSDOL that can push claims through faster. Worth a try if you've been waiting this long.

The system is deliberately slow to save them money. Think about it - the longer they delay, the more people give up, the less they have to pay out. It's by design. They hope you'll just find a job and forget about it.

Here's what you need to know about the NY unemployment system based on my experience (I worked through a 7-month claim disaster last year): First, yes - 4 months is ridiculous but unfortunately common. The system is massively backlogged. There are really only three ways to get movement on your claim: 1. Keep calling every single day, multiple times. Use redial and be prepared to spend hours. The earlier in the morning you call (like 7:59am), the better your chances. 2. Contact your state assembly member or state senator. They have special channels to push claims through. This worked for about half the people I know. 3. Use a service that gets you past the hold system. I finally broke down and used claimyr.com after 6 months of trying on my own, and they got me connected to an agent who fixed my claim in 10 minutes. I had my first payment a week later. Also, keep documenting everything. When you called, who you talked to, confirmation numbers, etc. Take screenshots of your claim status regularly. This will help when you finally reach someone. Don't give up! Even if you think you might be denied, you deserve an answer. And if you are eligible, you'll get backpay to when you first applied.

have you tried checking if theres a message in your inbox on the unemployment website? sometimes they send requests for more info there and dont tell you, then deny you for 'not responding

This is why I always tell people to CERTIFY EVERY WEEK even while pending!! If you're eventually approved, you only get paid for weeks you certified. Don't stop certifying just because you're waiting.

i waited 6 months just to get denied lmaooo 🤡 ny unemployment is the biggest joke

If you need money now, try applying for emergency assistance through HRA. You might qualify while waiting for unemployment to figure their mess out.

Everyone saying 'call your state rep' is giving false hope. I tried THREE different reps and none of them did anything useful. Only thing that worked was getting an actual DOL agent on the phone.

Have you tried calling exactly at 7:59 am? That's when their system resets and you have the best chance of getting through.

Check if your claim says 'pending' or 'in process' - they mean different things. If it says 'in process' it means they're actively reviewing it.

If your employer is contesting your claim, that can make it take forever. Did you leave on good terms?

The longest I've ever waited was 2 months before getting approved. 4 months is insane even for NY standards. Something is definitely wrong with your claim that needs human intervention.

you should be checking your mail carefully too. sometimes they send important stuff that requires a response within 10 days, and if you miss it they can deny you.

I'm going through the exact same thing right now - applied in December and it's been "pending" for over 2 months. The frustration is real! From reading all these comments, it sounds like the only real solutions are either getting extremely lucky with the phone calls or using one of those services like Claimyr that people keep mentioning. I'm probably going to try the state rep route first since it's free, but honestly at this point I'm willing to pay someone to get me through to an actual human being. The system is clearly broken when we're all waiting 4+ months just to find out if we even qualify. Hang in there - sounds like once you actually talk to someone they can resolve it quickly, it's just getting to that point that's impossible.

I'm dealing with this exact nightmare right now too. Filed in late December and still showing "pending" with zero communication from NYSDOL. It's absolutely maddening that we have to jump through all these hoops just to get a basic response about our own claims. I've tried the early morning calling strategy about 15 times with no luck - just the same "high call volume" message every single time. Based on all the comments here, it's pretty clear that the system is intentionally broken to discourage people from collecting benefits they're legally entitled to. The fact that so many people are having success with services like Claimyr tells you everything you need to know - if a third party can get you through to an agent in minutes when you can't do it yourself after months of trying, then the system is rigged against regular people. I'm going to try contacting my assembly member this week, but honestly I'm prepared to pay for one of these callback services if that doesn't work. At this point I've wasted so much time trying to get through on my own that it would probably be cheaper to just pay someone else to handle it. This whole situation is infuriating and shouldn't be legal.

I'm in the exact same situation and it's driving me crazy! Applied in December, now it's March and still showing "pending" with absolutely no updates. I've called probably 30+ times at different hours - 7:59am, lunch time, late afternoon - and never once gotten past that stupid "high call volume" recording. What really gets me is that I know people who applied AFTER me and already got their determinations (both approvals and denials). So it's not like they're processing claims in order - it seems completely random which ones get looked at. I'm starting to think @Carmella Fromis is right about this being intentional. They're probably hoping we'll all just give up and find jobs so they don't have to pay out benefits. But like, I DID find a job! I just want to know if I'm entitled to the benefits for those months I was unemployed. Is that too much to ask?? Definitely going to look into that Claimyr thing people keep mentioning. At this point I don't even care about the cost - my time and mental health are worth more than whatever they charge. This whole system is absolutely broken.

I'm so sorry you're going through this - the exact same thing happened to me last year and it's absolutely maddening! I applied in September and didn't hear ANYTHING until February. Five months of just sitting in "pending" status while I'm trying to figure out how to pay rent and buy groceries. What finally worked for me was a combination approach: I contacted my state senator's office (not just assembly member) AND used that Claimyr service people keep mentioning. The senator's office actually has a dedicated unemployment liaison who can escalate cases, and they were way more helpful than my assembly member's office. But honestly, the Claimyr thing is what actually got me connected to a live agent who resolved everything in one 15-minute call. I know it sucks having to pay for something that should be free, but I calculated that I was losing way more money every day my claim sat there than what the service cost. Plus I got all my back pay once it was approved, so it was totally worth it. Don't give up - you deserve answers and if you're eligible, you deserve those benefits! The system is broken but there are ways around it. Hang in there! 💪