Contact

This guide cannot see your unemployment claim or change anything on it. It has no contact form, so it cannot pass a message to the Department of Labor for you, and every question about your claim goes to the Department itself.

Help with your claim

The Department says the best way to claim weekly benefits or get payment information is online: sign in at labor.ny.gov/signin with your NY.gov ID. If you cannot sign in, go to its login help page, which has self-service steps for a forgotten username or password and for a locked account.

To speak with someone about your claim, call the Telephone Claims Center at (888) 209-8124, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call volume is high, and the Department warns that you may wait a long time. Telephone Claims Center staff cannot help with your NY.gov account, so take sign-in problems to the login help page instead.

The Department's other lines, including Tel-Service for weekly claims, the TTY relay, and the NY.gov Help Desk, are in the table under which number to call, along with the fax number for letters and documents.

Report fraud or identity theft

Report a claim filed in your name, or any other suspected unemployment fraud, to the Department as soon as you learn of it, through its Report Fraud page. The fraud hotline, which takes anonymous calls, is in the warning note under which number to call. If a tax form or tax bill shows benefits you never received, the taxes guide explains how to get it corrected.

Ask a question online

Many answers are in the Claimant Handbook and the frequently asked questions that the Department links from its Unemployment Insurance Assistance page. For a general question about Unemployment Insurance, or a question about your claim that the frequently asked questions do not answer, send the Department a secure message: sign in with your NY.gov ID and click "Messages." Secure messaging in your online account is also where you send wage documents such as pay stubs and where you can request a hearing. If you would rather write, post goes to New York State Department of Labor, P.O. Box 15130, Albany, NY 12212-5130, with your Social Security number at the top right of every page.

Help understanding your rights

The Department's Claimant Advocate Office offers free, impartial, and confidential services to help you understand your rights and responsibilities under Unemployment Insurance Law, particularly if you have limited English proficiency or another barrier. The office is listed on the Department's Unemployment Insurance Assistance page.