Pending Status

by Gail
(New York)

I did not receive my first unemployment check on the third week and when I checked online it said that my status was "pending"; however, I had never received anything in the mail stating this.

I was let go from my job - why is this happening?





Hi Gail,

It sounds to me as if the dept. has yet still to issue the non-monetary determination .. also called the merit determination.

However, I need to add that three weeks isn't an unreasonable amount per federal guidelines for a non-monetary determination of benefits to be issued which is when benefits would be paid.

Have you received a questionnaire from the NYDOL yet?

What would make me nervous is if you told me you started receiving benefits before the state concluded their investigation as some people have reported, only to next receive a benefit overpayment notice saying all benefits received to date have to be repaid.

No one should ever want the state to put the cart in front of the horse because of the risk of a re-determination resulting in an overpayment .. however painful it might be, it's better to wait for the process to work the way it's supposed to work.

When you say let go .. it was either for a layoff which is always quicker to receive approval for because there is no argument from the employer against you getting unemployment.

However any other type of termination from employment as in a voluntary quit or a discharge for some other reason .. results in an investigation being required.