The only potential tax consideration is that unemployment benefits are taxable income for federal and state taxes, while Social Security benefits may or may not be taxable depending on your total income. But this is just a tax issue, not an impact on the benefit amounts themselves.

I'm actually dealing with a similar situation right now - I'm 61 and just got laid off from my job of 15 years. I was also worried about how unemployment might affect my future Social Security benefits, so I did a lot of research and even spoke with someone at the Social Security Administration. They confirmed what others have said here - unemployment benefits are NOT counted as earned income for Social Security purposes and won't impact your benefit calculation at all. The Social Security Administration only looks at wages from employment and self-employment income when calculating your benefits. Unemployment insurance is considered an insurance benefit, not earnings. So you can definitely file with NYS Department of Labor without any concerns about your future Social Security. I filed mine last week and feel much better knowing it won't hurt my retirement plans.

Update: I decided to try Claimyr this morning after reading the recommendations here. Got connected to an agent within an hour! The agent was actually really helpful and said my account had a "pending adjudication" flag due to an employer response that needed manual review. She cleared it right away and said my payments should process within 2-3 business days. So relieved! Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Wow, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with a similar situation - been trying to reach NY unemployment for 2 weeks about delayed payments. The phone system is absolutely brutal. After reading everyone's experiences here, I'm definitely going to try the Claimyr service and also attempt calling my local career center. It's frustrating that we have to resort to third-party services just to reach our own state agencies, but if it works, it works. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and solutions - this community is a lifesaver when dealing with these bureaucratic nightmares!

I got disqualified for 'misconduct' even though all I did was show up 15 minutes late a few times. The NYS Department of Labor system is so broken, they'll find any excuse to deny claims. Make sure you appeal if they try to disqualify you!

For the hostile workplace situation, you'll want to gather as much documentation as possible - emails, text messages, witness statements, any HR complaints you filed, performance reviews that suddenly changed, etc. The key is showing a pattern of behavior that made continuing work unreasonable. NY does recognize "constructive dismissal" where conditions become so bad you're essentially forced to quit. Also keep in mind that you have to show you tried to resolve the situation first (like reporting to HR) before quitting, unless the situation was so severe that wasn't possible.

wait so if i started working in january this year would i qualify now? im so confused about these quarters

I went through something similar last year. The base period calculation is definitely confusing - I recommend checking your wage statement on the NYS Department of Labor website to see exactly what quarters and earnings they're counting. You can log into your NY.gov account and view your wage and benefit statement to see if you meet the minimum requirements. If you're close but not quite there, definitely ask about the alternative base period like Sebastián mentioned. Also, if you had any other jobs during that time period, even short-term ones, those wages might count toward your total too.

yeah layoffs definitely count, that's like the main reason unemployment exists lol. just don't mess up your weekly claims once you start getting them

Don't panic - you're definitely eligible since you were laid off due to downsizing (not misconduct). File your claim immediately at labor.ny.gov, don't wait even a day. You'll need your SSN, employer info, last day worked, and reason for separation. The weekly benefit amount is based on your earnings history. Also, start looking for work right away since you'll need to certify weekly that you're actively job searching. Sorry this happened to you, but the system is there for exactly this situation.