


Ask the community...
wait so does this mean if I quit my job I can't get unemployment?? because my employer didn't lay me off they would fight it right??
Just to clarify something important - while your employer can't directly control your payments, they CAN contest your claim if they believe you weren't eligible (like if they think you were fired for misconduct). But even if they contest it, the final decision is always made by the NYS Department of Labor after they review all the evidence. So don't worry about your bad relationship with your manager affecting your benefits - as long as you were legitimately laid off or fired without misconduct, you should be fine. The system has protections in place to prevent employers from arbitrarily cutting people off.
Once you get logged in properly, you should also be able to see your payment history and when your next weekly claim is due. The system updates pretty regularly so you can track any changes to your status.
Just want to add that when you do get into my.ny.gov successfully, don't panic if your status shows "pending" for the first week or two - that's totally normal! The DOL has to verify your employment history and eligibility before they can approve your claim. I was worried when mine stayed pending for almost 2 weeks but it eventually went through. Also make sure to keep filing your weekly certifications even while it's pending, otherwise you could miss out on back pay once it gets approved.
Just wanted to add that if your claim does go into adjudication for any reason, that can add several more weeks to the process. But for a straightforward layoff like yours, you should be fine. The key is to keep filing those weekly certifications and be patient.
I'm in a similar situation - filed my claim about 8 days ago after being laid off from my office job and still waiting. The uncertainty is really stressful when you're already dealing with losing your job. From what everyone's saying here, it sounds like 2-3 weeks is pretty normal, so I guess we just have to hang in there. Thanks for asking this question because I was wondering the same thing!
For someone making $52k annually, you're probably looking at around $400-500 per week if your earnings were spread evenly across quarters. The key thing to remember is that NYS Department of Labor uses calendar quarters, not rolling quarters. So if you're filing in May 2025, your base period would be Q1 2024 through Q4 2024. Make sure you have all your pay stubs or W-2s handy when you file because they'll verify your wages. The online application will walk you through it but having your earnings breakdown by quarter beforehand really helps speed up the process.
This is really practical advice! I hadn't thought about organizing my pay stubs by calendar quarter beforehand. Since I've been consistently employed, my earnings should be pretty evenly distributed across those quarters. It sounds like I should be in that $400-500 range you mentioned, which would be really helpful. Thanks for the tip about having the documentation ready - I'll gather everything before I start the application process.
One thing that helped me when I was calculating my potential benefits was using the NYS Department of Labor's online benefit calculator tool if you can find it, but honestly their website navigation is terrible. Another tip - if you had any periods of reduced hours or partial unemployment in your base period, that can actually work in your favor since they'll still count those wages toward your highest quarter. Also keep in mind that if you're filing now in May 2025, make sure you know exactly when your last day of work was because that determines which quarters count as your base period. The timing can make a difference of hundreds of dollars depending on whether your most recent high-earning quarter gets included or not.
This is really helpful information about the timing aspect! I hadn't considered how the exact date of my last day of work could affect which quarters are included in my base period. Since I'm still employed but planning ahead, I'll need to be strategic about when I actually file if I do end up needing unemployment benefits. The point about reduced hours still counting toward the highest quarter is interesting too - that could help people who had some temporary cutbacks but stayed employed. Do you happen to know if there's a specific day of the month that's better to file to maximize which quarters get included?
Admin_Masters
Yeah definitely report it all. I learned this the hard way when I was doing Instacart last year while on benefits.
0 coins
Giovanni Marino
I'm in a similar situation and have been researching this extensively. From what I've found, NYS Department of Labor has access to various databases that can flag unreported income, especially from major platforms like Uber Eats. They receive quarterly wage reports and can cross-reference 1099s issued by gig companies. Even if you think you're flying under the radar, it's not worth the risk. I'd recommend calling them directly to ask about the partial benefit calculation for your specific weekly benefit amount - that way you know exactly how much you can earn before it starts reducing your UI payments. Better to be upfront and keep some benefits than lose everything later.
0 coins
Javier Torres
•This is really helpful advice! I'm just starting to look into gig work while collecting benefits and had no idea about the quarterly wage reports. Do you know if there's a specific timeframe when they typically cross-reference this data? Like, would they catch unreported income within a few weeks or is it more of an annual review thing? Just trying to understand the timeline so I can make sure I'm reporting everything correctly from day one.
0 coins