You will soon receive a determination letter in the mail telling you how much you will receive each week for Unemployment Insurance (UI) or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits. This letter will be sent to the mailing address you submitted with your application.

Please open and review your determination letter right away for accuracy. Make sure you agree with the amount of earnings reported and check the list to confirm it includes all of your employers. Please note that the Wage Reporting System does not show wages earned with the federal government, in a branch of military service, as an independent contractor, or for work done outside of New York State, so the monetary determination letter may not list them.

If your determination letter is missing any of your employers, jobs, or earnings, fill out a Request for Reconsideration form or a Request for Alternate Base Period form and return it right away. A copy of these forms can be found in the claimant handbook. The determination letter provides a date by which you must file a Request for Reconsideration. However, due to delays with USPS mail during this crisis and the implementation of new federal programs created to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may receive the letter after the printed deadline. The actual response due date is 30 days from the postmark date on the letter. That means you may submit your response even if you received the determination letter late or the printed deadline had passed.

If your weekly benefit rate is determined to be $0 for UI, you may be eligible for PUA benefits. You should immediately apply for PUA at unemployment.labor.ny.gov if you have not already done so. If you have already applied and been approved for PUA and are receiving benefits, you do not need to take any further action besides continuing to submit weekly certifications for benefits. If you have applied for PUA but have not received a determination, look out for an email, text, or letter updating you on your claim.

If you have not received all of your back payments yet, please be assured that you will receive all the benefits you are eligible for. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

 

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