Just to add - make sure you have all your employment history ready when you file. You'll need dates, wages, and reason for separation for your most recent employers. Having everything organized beforehand makes the application process much smoother.

One thing to keep in mind - when you file your initial claim, you'll also need to register for work search requirements. Even though you're receiving severance, NYS Department of Labor typically requires you to be actively looking for work to maintain eligibility. Make sure you understand what counts as valid work search activities and keep records of your job search efforts from day one. The requirements can be pretty strict, so it's better to start documenting your search activities right away rather than scrambling later when your severance ends.

I'm also dealing with NYS Department of Labor right now and the whole process is pretty overwhelming as a first-time filer. From what I've learned reading through everyone's responses, it sounds like the weekly benefit is roughly half of what you were earning, but capped at that $504 maximum. The part about needing $2,600 minimum in your base period is really important - I almost didn't qualify because of that requirement. Has anyone here had experience with the appeals process if your initial calculation seems wrong? I'm worried they might make an error with my wages since I had a few different part-time jobs during my base period.

Based on your $420 weekly earnings, you should expect around $210 per week in benefits. I filed earlier this year with similar part-time earnings and that's exactly what I received from NYS Department of Labor. One tip - when you apply online, make sure to have your Social Security card and driver's license handy, plus any W-2s or pay stubs from the past 18 months. The system will ask for your employer information going back to your base period. Also, file your claim on Sunday night or early Monday morning if possible - the website gets overloaded during peak hours and you might get kicked out halfway through the application. The whole process took me about 45 minutes to complete once I had all my documents ready.

just file online its not that complicated, i did mine in like 10 minutes and got approved

I went through this exact situation about 6 months ago when I got laid off from my marketing job and had to take a part-time gig at a coffee shop. The NYS Department of Labor was actually really helpful once I got through the initial application process. One thing I wish someone had told me earlier - make sure you keep detailed records of ALL your part-time earnings and hours worked each week. They'll ask for this information when you file your weekly claims, and having everything organized made the process so much smoother. Also, don't be discouraged if your first payment takes a bit longer than expected - mine took about 3 weeks, but the back pay covered everything once it came through. You definitely qualify for partial benefits given your situation!

just remember you have to do the weekly claims every week even if its the same info over and over. miss one week and they make you start all over again its ridiculous

One thing to keep in mind is that your unemployment benefits may be subject to federal taxes, and you can choose to have 10% withheld automatically when you set up your claim. This might be worth doing if you don't want to deal with a big tax bill next year. Also, the $425/week you'd get is decent but definitely budget tight - I'd recommend applying to jobs aggressively since the benefits only last 26 weeks maximum in NY.

The whole base period thing is so confusing!!! I wish they would just look at your last year of work and be done with it. Why does it have to be these weird quarter calculations that nobody understands?

The quarter system can definitely be confusing at first! One thing that helped me understand it better is that they use completed quarters, so if you're filing your claim in the middle of a quarter, that current quarter won't count toward your base period. Also, @Cameron Black, regarding your specific situation - since you worked consistently for 8 months in 2024, you should easily meet both the total earnings requirement ($2,600) and the high quarter requirement ($1,300) that @Ruby Garcia mentioned. The key is having that recent work attachment, which it sounds like you definitely have.