How do you request a hearing on a New York unemployment determination?

You can request a hearing on any determination that denies you benefits or affects how much you can receive. That includes an overpayment determination and the denial of an overpayment waiver.

Request a hearing within 30 days

To request a hearing online:

1. Sign in at labor.ny.gov/signin with your NY.GOV ID, the NY.gov account you use for unemployment services.
2. Click the envelope icon on the My Online Services page.
3. Select "Hearings and Appeals" as the first subject line.
4. Select "I want to request a hearing" as the second subject line.

To ask by mail, send a signed, written request to the address under "Request a Hearing" on the Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance contact page, with your Social Security number at the top right corner of every page. That page says a written request must be received within 30 days of the determination, so leave time for the mail.

Keep claiming while you wait

While your hearing or appeal is pending, keep searching for work, certify for benefits every week, and report any money you earned during each claim week. If the decision goes your way, you are paid only for the weeks in which you met those requirements.

Reading your determination

The Monetary Benefit Determination shows whether your past earnings are enough to set a weekly benefit. It does not say that you will be paid. If wages on it are wrong or missing, send a Request for Reconsideration with proof such as pay stubs, a W-2, or 1099s. The Department reviews all wage documents and adjusts benefit rates case by case.

An overpayment determination can find that the overpayment was willful, and that decides how much of each weekly payment goes to repay it. Check the date on every determination notice, since the 30 days to request a hearing count from it.

The hearing and the Appeal Board

An impartial Administrative Law Judge holds your hearing. The Administrative Law Judge section is under the jurisdiction of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, an independent body appointed by the governor. The Department's Requesting a Hearing page explains what happens at the hearing and how to prepare for it.

If you disagree with the judge's decision, you can appeal in writing to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board. The Board sends you a "Notice of Receipt of Appeal" with your Appeal Board case number and how to submit a statement on appeal.

If you disagree with an Appeal Board decision, you may appeal to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Third Judicial Department, and from there to the New York State Court of Appeals.

If you were overpaid

An overpayment is unemployment benefits you received but were not entitled to. Until it is fully repaid, the Department cuts your weekly benefits by 50% for a non-willful overpayment and by 100% for a willful one. An earlier overpayment you never repaid may also reduce some or all of your benefits.

If you cannot pay it off in full, call the Collections Unit at 800-533-6600 to set up a payment plan, or mail a request to the address under "Payment Plan" on the Department's Unemployment Insurance contact page. The Collections Unit sets up payment plans. To dispute the overpayment itself, request a hearing. The Department does not try to collect payments from you while your appeal is in progress, and if you are found eligible for benefits, it refunds anything you paid.

You can request a hearing on an overpayment determination or a waiver denial too, and an impartial judge employed by the Appeal Board conducts it. If you attend that hearing and lose all or part of the case, you can appeal to the Appeal Board. If the Board does not rule in your favor, you have 30 days from its decision to ask it to reconsider, or to appeal to the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, Third Department.

Asking for a waiver

A waiver asks the Department to forgive an overpayment of federal benefits. You may seek one if you were not at fault for the overpayment and recovering it would be contrary to equity and good conscience, meaning repayment would be unfair. The Department cannot approve a waiver if you were found at fault. Its overpayment waiver page explains how to apply.

Fraud penalties

When the Department finds that you knowingly made false statements or held back relevant facts to get benefits, it charges a civil penalty of $100 or 15% of the overpayment, whichever is greater. You pay the penalty on top of the benefits you must repay. Fraud penalties can also include forfeit days: each forfeit day costs you 25% of that week's benefits, and 4 forfeit days in one week leave no benefits for that week.

Claiming fraudulently, or letting someone use your PIN (personal identification number) to get benefits or get into your claim, can lead to criminal prosecution and imprisonment. Letting another person use your PIN can also cost you up to 20 weeks of benefits.

To report suspected fraud, including a claim someone filed in your name, use the ways listed in the contact guide.