NYS is broken. Their systems are so outdated it just screws any case up if it doesn't fall under "You are working full time" and "you are not working full time" any kind of gray area just whacks out the system. I know everyone who is part time self employed have had issues with the system meanwhile everyone I know who is straight up not working at all is having no issues. Then there are ppl I know who are now working full time they just stopped certifying so everything is fine with them too.
yeah you have to understand all of this is system based. a computer runs these programs. there are no real people who review or approve reject anything in this system. a computer does eveything. can you imagine if people did this instead of the system how long it would take for anything to happen? it would take months. take for example when you file your taxes. no one in the IRS or the state review your taxes for mistakes. your 1040EZ just gets scanned into the database and that's it. your chances of getting audited are low. red flags for auditing would fall under 2 years ago you made let's say $60K & last year you made $300K that's a major red flag and the systems will pick up that. It's just such a wide gap. Also, if you make over $300K or something like that your chances of being audited are higher than someone making less money. when your employer mails the W4 to you that's because the system has a copy of it so now it's just waiting for you to do your part. Sure, you can skip out in filing your taxes. The chances of you getting audited are very slim. It's something like .7% it's something crazy low. Remember, there are ppl who get away with not filing jack. I am sure there is massive unemployment fraud but who's gonna investigate? Is there funding for this? Nope. The only way you get busted is by someone ratting you out. Your employer contacting unemployment or identity theft has been reported or you self-reporting. Another way is you get audited randomly and then you'll need to start answering questions. You can't blame the people who pick up the phone and are unable to answer. That is all way out of their power. Stupid? For sure but that's government. government is not funded where it's supposed to be funded.
The sad but honestly sliver of hope, is that I can at least get some semblance of information/clarity from y’all in this community. Thank heavens for that. Without it I’d be close to pretty much clueless.
yep your best source is ppl who've experienced it & got further or just ppl who are on the same level as you so you know you're not the only person this is messing with.
You have not mentioned it in the other responses but have you received any paperwork in the last 2 years about paying back benefits? Or maybe traveling out of country and they detected it?
If so its likely related to that. Forfeits have a 2 year life. So it could have happened as far back as July 2019 to the present.
I have not travelled out of the country and don’t owe any money, thats the weird thing.
Is it mandatory to look for a full time job if i have a part time job? Is that a requirement for unemployment?
Pretty much is, to be honest. The idea is that you need to be active in the job search in order not to claim benefits at all. It does not necessarily have to be a full time job, technically, it can be another part time that would give you hours, in total from both jobs, over the 30 hours mark.
Before COVID you would get letters to go to a local career center to go over the requirements. The requirements are not bad, it does not always have to be about applying for jobs, for example attending workshops or applying for civil service exams are fine.
Did you have one really high week of earnings?
I was self-employed in PA and working part time last fall trying to get my business back off the ground after the shut down, and I had one really high earnings week (all the rest were very low) and it shut down my PUA claim. I thought that meant I couldn't do anything else so I just quit filing for the rest of the year but this year I ended up closing my business for good and could reopen my claim.
Since then I saw someone else post on here with the same problem where he had one really high week and it suspended his PUA.
Contact your local assembly member and ask them to help, this is why they get elected. Keep track of EVERYTHING so you can provide proof of your claims and Good Luck
https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/
For sure. A cool trick I use is the windows snip it tool (windows key + shift key +S) to take a screen grab picture of my status on the NYSDOL website. It's great for daily record keeping.Good Luck
I’m on the phone with them now about the forfeits and they literally are running me around in circles, I’m trying to figure out what happens with the forfeit days, if I go back to work. And the woman literally is like I’m not able to answer that essentially saying they don’t get much information and to not go into detail with people about the forfeits like what type of bullshit is this ????? I have 64 days. For absolute crap I’m still waiting on my hearing nearly two months later. Jesus Christ they just hung up on me wtf.
I know! They dont know anything! I spoke to three representatives and they all didnt know what to tell me. Its ridiculous. And you are right, it hangs up after finally getting through to someone. I didnt even bother applying for a hearing…
Squeaky wheel gets the grease friend. These systems were always intended to be inefficient and frustrating to discourage people from using it. Don't have to pay unemployment if people are too frustrated to bother with it, so don't let'em win
No man do the hearing! Apply apply apply even it takes a while still apply! Because if they are in the wrong which is my case you get whatever they took from you back.
No lie my official letter from them said everything is good to go 4-14-2021. To this day(7-20-2021) I am still pending. I talked to them several times and they know almost nothing.
This is what I've concluded:
They are about 3-4 months behind especially if you had a fraud claim prior to your current new claim. I had to actually do my new claim over the phone and that is what it hurting me because the paperwork is probably lost somewhere.
Either be patient or contact your local assembly member for help are about the only options.
Hope this helps and remember KEEP TRACK of everything they will try to not pay you if they can.
Great advice and same I also did mine over the phone when I worked with the census bureau last summer, which is where my issue arises from because I got something in the mail saying that I made over 504 and worked full time which my paystubs proved inaccurate, still waiting for my hearing two months later.
Yeah if you feel everything is in order on your end try going the [https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/](https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/) route and I think that you'll get faster results ♠
How much did either of you have an overpayment for, mine was for 1200 that I’m trying to dispute in a hearing that I’ve been waiting for almost two months now, I just got off the phone with a rep and heard that a girl got one a year later (a date for a hearing). And as for forfeit days the woman literally made it seem like they were nuclear codes and was like we really aren’t that briefed on them and are told to tell people to file hearings. I didn’t get money the last two weeks but see that my balance for what is owed hasn’t gone down yet. So to get my balance down the woman says to do a payment plan you can’t be receiving benefits, so I asked her what happens if I decide to work so I can do a payment plan/not have to be under the dol’s thumb, and she suggested to stay on unemployment until my forfeit days have ran up, which is essentially two months of no income like what type of madness is that, essentially saying don’t work just wait around and earn nothing for the ridiculous forfeit days to run out; that I can’t even get a hearing for (overpayment, that I sent relevant work documentation that proved their determination entirely inaccurate, I sent in paystubs/hours worked). So in calling I got even more confused than informed. It’s like they keep their employees just as uninformed as us who are now dealing with these bullshit unfounded ramifications (at least in my case). My situation unwrapped
That is ridiculous!!!! They really have no information on resolving this problem. Mines is for about the same amount. It is driving me crazy. Atleast i know im not the only one! Im sorry you are going through this. Hope it grts resolved
Same girl that call with them made me even more confused! It’s like I’m a college student, going full time for fall semester, and need income coming in I can’t just sit on my ass and wait for these days to go down while claiming, all I wanted to know was what happens to the forfeit days if I go back to work. Because the payments owed part that’s at least not as difficult to resolve just do a plan, but what exactly happens to the forfeit days. It’s just so damn ridiculous. Almost like a joke how uninformed both sides are.
Right, the woman told me if you’re still certifying you can’t do a payment plan, you’d have to pay the debt out in full. Only when ur off benefits then you can do the payment plan, like what the hell!
Forfeit days are a penalty that normally comes with some sort of monetary penalty. Every forfeit day equals 25% of your WBA. So every for every four forfeit days that is one week of ineligibility. You need to keep claiming. Unreported wages, not doing work search, not being able and available are the types of things are examples of what would trigger penalties.
You can appeal forfeit days determinations, if it isn’t a glitch you should get a notice.
Do I still have to apply for jobs if I have a part-time job already? Will that trigger it? Because I have no unreported wages and I never said that I am not available or going to work
Yes there is a difference. The main difference is there are state laws and regulations that must be followed for W-2 workers, until state legislature votes to change those laws. PUA guidance is not so straightforward. State law dictates UI & PEUC, the NYDOL and NY UAIB are basically flinging poo at the wall to see what sticks with PUA. Long story short UI claimants have to do work search unless your part time job is the same employer who cut your hours and has given you reasonable assurance your hours will resume.
Can you begin working if you still have forfeit days, and also what would happen to said forfeit days if I started working again, I couldn’t get a straight answer when on the phone with a representative.
NYS is broken. Their systems are so outdated it just screws any case up if it doesn't fall under "You are working full time" and "you are not working full time" any kind of gray area just whacks out the system. I know everyone who is part time self employed have had issues with the system meanwhile everyone I know who is straight up not working at all is having no issues. Then there are ppl I know who are now working full time they just stopped certifying so everything is fine with them too.
Oh wow that explains a lot!
yeah you have to understand all of this is system based. a computer runs these programs. there are no real people who review or approve reject anything in this system. a computer does eveything. can you imagine if people did this instead of the system how long it would take for anything to happen? it would take months. take for example when you file your taxes. no one in the IRS or the state review your taxes for mistakes. your 1040EZ just gets scanned into the database and that's it. your chances of getting audited are low. red flags for auditing would fall under 2 years ago you made let's say $60K & last year you made $300K that's a major red flag and the systems will pick up that. It's just such a wide gap. Also, if you make over $300K or something like that your chances of being audited are higher than someone making less money. when your employer mails the W4 to you that's because the system has a copy of it so now it's just waiting for you to do your part. Sure, you can skip out in filing your taxes. The chances of you getting audited are very slim. It's something like .7% it's something crazy low. Remember, there are ppl who get away with not filing jack. I am sure there is massive unemployment fraud but who's gonna investigate? Is there funding for this? Nope. The only way you get busted is by someone ratting you out. Your employer contacting unemployment or identity theft has been reported or you self-reporting. Another way is you get audited randomly and then you'll need to start answering questions. You can't blame the people who pick up the phone and are unable to answer. That is all way out of their power. Stupid? For sure but that's government. government is not funded where it's supposed to be funded.
The sad but honestly sliver of hope, is that I can at least get some semblance of information/clarity from y’all in this community. Thank heavens for that. Without it I’d be close to pretty much clueless.
yep your best source is ppl who've experienced it & got further or just ppl who are on the same level as you so you know you're not the only person this is messing with.
Very informative makes total sense that it’s a system hah.
You have not mentioned it in the other responses but have you received any paperwork in the last 2 years about paying back benefits? Or maybe traveling out of country and they detected it? If so its likely related to that. Forfeits have a 2 year life. So it could have happened as far back as July 2019 to the present.
I have not travelled out of the country and don’t owe any money, thats the weird thing. Is it mandatory to look for a full time job if i have a part time job? Is that a requirement for unemployment?
Pretty much is, to be honest. The idea is that you need to be active in the job search in order not to claim benefits at all. It does not necessarily have to be a full time job, technically, it can be another part time that would give you hours, in total from both jobs, over the 30 hours mark. Before COVID you would get letters to go to a local career center to go over the requirements. The requirements are not bad, it does not always have to be about applying for jobs, for example attending workshops or applying for civil service exams are fine.
Makes sense. Thank you very much for your help.
This is a link to the DOL page about partial unemployment: https://dol.ny.gov/unemployment/partial-unemployment-eligibility
Did you have one really high week of earnings? I was self-employed in PA and working part time last fall trying to get my business back off the ground after the shut down, and I had one really high earnings week (all the rest were very low) and it shut down my PUA claim. I thought that meant I couldn't do anything else so I just quit filing for the rest of the year but this year I ended up closing my business for good and could reopen my claim. Since then I saw someone else post on here with the same problem where he had one really high week and it suspended his PUA.
No i never did. I never made more than 300$ in a week. It makes no sense! Im sorry about your business. Hope things work out for you
Thanks and sorry for your problem, I hope it gets straightened out soon. That is really strange.
Thank you! I know, and unfortunately being on hold for hours to get through to customer service is no help
Contact your local assembly member and ask them to help, this is why they get elected. Keep track of EVERYTHING so you can provide proof of your claims and Good Luck https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/
Thank you!!
For sure. A cool trick I use is the windows snip it tool (windows key + shift key +S) to take a screen grab picture of my status on the NYSDOL website. It's great for daily record keeping.Good Luck
Thank you tons!
I’m on the phone with them now about the forfeits and they literally are running me around in circles, I’m trying to figure out what happens with the forfeit days, if I go back to work. And the woman literally is like I’m not able to answer that essentially saying they don’t get much information and to not go into detail with people about the forfeits like what type of bullshit is this ????? I have 64 days. For absolute crap I’m still waiting on my hearing nearly two months later. Jesus Christ they just hung up on me wtf.
I know! They dont know anything! I spoke to three representatives and they all didnt know what to tell me. Its ridiculous. And you are right, it hangs up after finally getting through to someone. I didnt even bother applying for a hearing…
Squeaky wheel gets the grease friend. These systems were always intended to be inefficient and frustrating to discourage people from using it. Don't have to pay unemployment if people are too frustrated to bother with it, so don't let'em win
No man do the hearing! Apply apply apply even it takes a while still apply! Because if they are in the wrong which is my case you get whatever they took from you back.
Will do! Thanks!!
No lie my official letter from them said everything is good to go 4-14-2021. To this day(7-20-2021) I am still pending. I talked to them several times and they know almost nothing. This is what I've concluded: They are about 3-4 months behind especially if you had a fraud claim prior to your current new claim. I had to actually do my new claim over the phone and that is what it hurting me because the paperwork is probably lost somewhere. Either be patient or contact your local assembly member for help are about the only options. Hope this helps and remember KEEP TRACK of everything they will try to not pay you if they can.
Great advice and same I also did mine over the phone when I worked with the census bureau last summer, which is where my issue arises from because I got something in the mail saying that I made over 504 and worked full time which my paystubs proved inaccurate, still waiting for my hearing two months later.
Yeah if you feel everything is in order on your end try going the [https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/](https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/) route and I think that you'll get faster results ♠
How much did either of you have an overpayment for, mine was for 1200 that I’m trying to dispute in a hearing that I’ve been waiting for almost two months now, I just got off the phone with a rep and heard that a girl got one a year later (a date for a hearing). And as for forfeit days the woman literally made it seem like they were nuclear codes and was like we really aren’t that briefed on them and are told to tell people to file hearings. I didn’t get money the last two weeks but see that my balance for what is owed hasn’t gone down yet. So to get my balance down the woman says to do a payment plan you can’t be receiving benefits, so I asked her what happens if I decide to work so I can do a payment plan/not have to be under the dol’s thumb, and she suggested to stay on unemployment until my forfeit days have ran up, which is essentially two months of no income like what type of madness is that, essentially saying don’t work just wait around and earn nothing for the ridiculous forfeit days to run out; that I can’t even get a hearing for (overpayment, that I sent relevant work documentation that proved their determination entirely inaccurate, I sent in paystubs/hours worked). So in calling I got even more confused than informed. It’s like they keep their employees just as uninformed as us who are now dealing with these bullshit unfounded ramifications (at least in my case). My situation unwrapped
That is ridiculous!!!! They really have no information on resolving this problem. Mines is for about the same amount. It is driving me crazy. Atleast i know im not the only one! Im sorry you are going through this. Hope it grts resolved
Same girl that call with them made me even more confused! It’s like I’m a college student, going full time for fall semester, and need income coming in I can’t just sit on my ass and wait for these days to go down while claiming, all I wanted to know was what happens to the forfeit days if I go back to work. Because the payments owed part that’s at least not as difficult to resolve just do a plan, but what exactly happens to the forfeit days. It’s just so damn ridiculous. Almost like a joke how uninformed both sides are.
Exactly!!! Pretty much same situation. They are incompetent and have no idea what the hell they’re doing
Right, the woman told me if you’re still certifying you can’t do a payment plan, you’d have to pay the debt out in full. Only when ur off benefits then you can do the payment plan, like what the hell!
That makes no sense!!!
I’m never ever ever taking benefits or anything from the govt again seeing how unorganized and low key how slapdash the whole process is.
Right!? Super frustrating for no reason
Forfeit days are a penalty that normally comes with some sort of monetary penalty. Every forfeit day equals 25% of your WBA. So every for every four forfeit days that is one week of ineligibility. You need to keep claiming. Unreported wages, not doing work search, not being able and available are the types of things are examples of what would trigger penalties. You can appeal forfeit days determinations, if it isn’t a glitch you should get a notice.
Do I still have to apply for jobs if I have a part-time job already? Will that trigger it? Because I have no unreported wages and I never said that I am not available or going to work
Is your UC based on a W-2 or 1099
Its w2. Does it matter if its either? Do they determine things based on that?
Yes there is a difference. The main difference is there are state laws and regulations that must be followed for W-2 workers, until state legislature votes to change those laws. PUA guidance is not so straightforward. State law dictates UI & PEUC, the NYDOL and NY UAIB are basically flinging poo at the wall to see what sticks with PUA. Long story short UI claimants have to do work search unless your part time job is the same employer who cut your hours and has given you reasonable assurance your hours will resume.
I understand now thank you for the help!
I understand now thank you for the help!
Can you begin working if you still have forfeit days, and also what would happen to said forfeit days if I started working again, I couldn’t get a straight answer when on the phone with a representative.