NY State Unemployment is the worst!

Beware rant ahead...

It really makes me sick that we work and work and work, always contributing to our own unemployment funds and then when worse comes to worst and we get laid off, we have to keep working to get the State to give us the money we've already paid for!

Now I can't really compare New York State's Department of Labor to every other state in the country. I can only really compare it to New Jersey, the state in which I live and in which my husband claimed his unemployment when he got laid off. And there were a couple of snags along the way, but compared to what New York State is making me do, he seems to have had it pretty easy.

Of course a lot of the bullshit we both went through is the same. Long, long wait times to actually be able to speak with anyone. It took me five calls, each one about 10 minutes of maneuvering through the lengthy menus, before I was finally put on hold to wait for someone today. The first four times I would get to the point of being put on hold and the automated voice would say the operators were too busy and I'd have to call again. Why not just put me on hold and let me wait an hour? I'd rather do that and know I'm going to get to speak with someone eventually than have to continually call back and hope the timing is right!

My husband had a similar experience when he actually went to an unemployment office. He got there almost an hour before the office closed but because there were a lot of people waiting to speak to someone, he was told he would have to leave, even though the office was still open. How is that right?

I also don't understand why one State can offer a certain amount of unemployment and others can offer a different amount? Isn't it supposed to be based on what you earned? Because I worked in New York City, I have to claim in New York State. But New York caps its unemployment at $405 a week, no matter what you earned!! If I were claiming in New Jersey I'd be getting about $160 more per week! Again, how is that right?

New York State then gave me the runaround during my initial claim because I hit the wrong button while filing the claim, which had to be done by phone since I'm an out-of-state claimant. And of course there's no back button when you claim on the phone. I tried to communicate with a person about the mistake to fix it, but was told it would all have to be done by mail. I was sent a form asking me to explain my claim. I don't remember the exact dates but for argument's sake, let's say the form was dated July 1. I received it on July 6 and on the bottom it said the form had to be received by New York State within seven days of the date on the form. Hello! If I get the form six days after that date, how am I supposed to get it back to them in seven? In hindsight I should have overnighted it, even though that costs a lot more than a stamp. Instead I assumed (which of course makes me the ass) that there had to be a slight grace period and filled it out and sent it back the day I got it. A few days later I got a notice in the mail telling me that they've "determined" I was still employed. I had no choice except to go through a hearing process. Again, I tried to call and explain. I tried to e-mail the department and explain. In every case I was told I have no choice except to go through the hearing. I spoke to a employment lawyer who told me once it gets to a hearing it could go in either direction because the people who make the decision are underpayed and their decisions depend on their moods. I was in full panic mode for at least a week. And then, in the mail, I get a notice telling me the determination has been reversed and a few days later I get all my back unemployment payments. My guess is someone finally realized they had the form I'd sent back explaining and finally used it. But why did it take so long, and why couldn't I speak to someone?

Now I am once again waiting for my payments to be released because I declared the pay from a freelance article (which I'm allowed to do but legally obligated to declare). When my husband would work a temp job during his unemployment, he would declare the weeks he got paid and of course would not get unemployment for those weeks. If he didn't work in a week, he claimed and they sent his unemployment no questions asked. Easy peasy. In New York, if you declare that you made more than the $405 one week, the next week they put your payments on hold and send you a form to fill out in which you have to prove employment and the reason for your unemployment again. It does not apply to those who are self-employed at all! But it puts a full stop on payments anyway. I am very lucky I have my husband's salary to rely on. If I had only the unemployment, which has this wonderful tendency to stop and start, I'd be in big trouble. I'm sure there are others, having that problem. How does New York State justify this?

I will say I got to speak to a very nice woman named Jess today who was able to fill out the form on my behalf over the phone, which she said would speed up the release of my unemployment. She also told me how to fill the form out in the future, although my payments will still be held until the form is received. She did agree with me that for those of us who manage to earn a small amount of money through self-employment it is a confusing process. Jess was very nice and she was very reassuring. But I won't actually feel better until I see the money released into my bank account.

Who wants to take a guess at how long that's going to take? Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to say I'll get my money at some point before the end of the year.