Thanks everyone for the detailed responses! This is really helpful. I think I understand the basics now - report gross income, they reduce benefits by 25% of anything over $143, and my claim stays active even if I earn too much one week. One more question though - since this is freelance web design work, how do I handle it if the client pays me with a 1099 at the end of the year instead of weekly? Do I still report it the week I do the work even though I haven't actually received payment yet? And should I be setting aside money for taxes on both the freelance income AND the unemployment benefits?

One thing to add about freelance work while on unemployment - make sure you understand the difference between "work" and "earnings" when reporting. Even if you spend 10 hours working on a project but haven't finished it yet (so no payment earned), you still need to report those work hours on your weekly claim. NYS Department of Labor looks at both the amount you earned AND the number of days you worked. If you work 4 or more days in a week, even for just a few hours each day, it can affect your benefits differently than just the earnings calculation. I learned this the hard way when I was doing small freelance projects - I was only reporting the money but not the actual work days, which caused issues later when they audited my claim.

The NYS Department of Labor system is so frustrating for seasonal workers! They act like everyone has a regular 9-5 job year round. I've been dealing with this for five years and every winter it's the same hassle trying to prove I'm eligible.

I went through this exact same situation working seasonal roofing jobs! One tip that really helped me - when you file your initial claim, make sure to mention that your layoff is due to seasonal weather conditions. NYS DOL has specific provisions for weather-related layoffs in construction and outdoor work. Also, keep any documentation from your employer about the seasonal layoff (like that notice about December 15th being your last day) - it can help if there are any questions about your eligibility. The whole process was actually smoother than I expected once I got started.

One thing to keep in mind is that your weekly benefit amount is calculated based on your earnings during your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed). So even though you have 26 weeks maximum, you might exhaust your dollar amount before you reach the time limit if your weekly benefit is high relative to your total benefit amount. You can check your remaining balance on the NYS DOL website when you file your weekly claims.

Another important thing to remember is that if you do temporary or part-time work while collecting unemployment, you need to report all earnings when you file your weekly claim. NYS allows you to earn up to a certain amount before it affects your benefits (usually around 1/4 of your weekly benefit rate), but anything over that will reduce your weekly payment dollar-for-dollar. Just make sure you're honest about any work you do - they cross-check with employer wage reports and not reporting earnings can result in overpayment that you'll have to pay back with penalties.

Wait, you filed in early January and it's been 5 weeks? That means you filed like the first week of January? Because if you filed after January 15th it hasn't been 5 weeks yet. Just want to make sure the timeline is right because that affects whether this is actually an unusual delay or not.

Manufacturing layoffs sometimes get extra scrutiny because they want to verify it wasn't a voluntary quit or misconduct termination. Did you get any severance or notice pay? That can also complicate the timeline because they need to determine your benefit start date. The good news is that once approved, you'll get backpay to your benefit year start date.

I understand your frustration with the religious accommodation issue. You should definitely document everything about your religious practices and the fact that you need Sundays off for religious observance. When you go to your appeal hearing, bring any documentation you have about your religious beliefs and explain that refusing work due to religious reasons is protected. NYS Department of Labor has to consider religious accommodations under both state and federal law. You might also want to contact a legal aid organization that handles employment issues - they sometimes take cases involving religious discrimination for free or low cost. Don't give up on the appeal process, even though it's frustrating.

Religious accommodation is definitely a protected right that NYS Department of Labor should have considered before denying your benefits. The fact that you couldn't work Sundays due to religious observance isn't a valid "work refusal" under labor law. Beyond the appeal process, you might want to file a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights if they didn't properly evaluate your religious accommodation request. While you can't directly sue for monetary damages in most cases, documenting religious discrimination could strengthen your position. Keep detailed records of all communications and make sure to emphasize in your appeal that this was a religious accommodation issue, not simply refusing work.