Unemployment Resources

In recent days my office has received many calls regarding difficulties people are having with filing for unemployment—including long phone waits and website crashes due to enormous demand. To those who are having issues filing, I understand your frustration and have voiced my concerns about the importance of addressing this issue as quickly as possible during this difficult time.

If you are filing a new unemployment insurance claim, please follow the below directions from DOL in order to have your claim processed as quickly as possible:

*If you are filing a new unemployment insurance claim, the day you should file is based on the first letter of your last name.

*If your last name starts with A-F, file your claim on Monday.

*If your last name starts with G-N, file your claim on Tuesday.

*If your last name starts with O-Z, file your claim on Wednesday.

*If you missed your filing date, file your claim on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Please note filing later in the week will NOT delay your payments or affect the date of your claim, since all claims are effective on Monday of the week in which they are filed.

In addition, DOL has extended telephone filing hours:

Monday through Thursday, 8 am to 7:30 pm.

Friday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Saturday, 7:30 am to 8:00 pm.

Please note New York State has waived the 7-day waiting period for unemployment insurance benefits for people who are out work due to Coronavirus closures or quarantines.

For more information, including a step-by-step guide to filing a claim, please click here to access the New York State Department of Labor website.