just went through this whole thing with my employer saying i was fired for misconduct when i was clearly laid off due to slow business. took forever to get through to nys department of labor but eventually they ruled in my favor. employers will try anything to avoid paying higher ui taxes

To directly answer your original question - there's no specific dollar amount per claim. It depends on the employer's payroll size, their claims history, and current UI tax rates. A restaurant with high turnover might already be paying close to the maximum rate of 9.9%, while a stable company with few claims might pay the minimum. Your individual claim gets added to their experience rating calculation for future years.

I had issues getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my 1099-G form. Kept getting busy signals for weeks. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that gets you connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made it so much easier to get my tax questions answered directly.

just want to add that if youre getting any other government benefits like SNAP or medicaid you definitely need to report your UI income to them too. they consider it income for eligibility purposes

The unemployment rate is just a statistic about how many people are unemployed vs employed. It has nothing to do with your specific claim approval. Your claim gets approved based on whether you worked enough quarters, earned enough wages, and had a qualifying separation reason. The rate could be 2% or 10% and it wouldn't change the eligibility rules.

I think your friend is confusing things. Maybe they're thinking about how during recessions sometimes there are temporary program changes or funding issues, but for regular UI claims the unemployment rate doesn't matter. NYS Department of Labor follows the same eligibility rules regardless of the economic climate.

I had a nightmare trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor when I was dealing with a misconduct determination. Spent hours on hold every day for weeks. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that connects you directly to unemployment agents by phone. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Got through to someone in 15 minutes instead of waiting all day. Really helped me explain my situation properly and get my claim approved.

The whole system is rigged against workers anyway. They make it SO hard to get benefits even when you deserve them. Employers can just claim anything is misconduct and then you have to fight it for months.

Wait I thought if you worked long enough you automatically qualified? This is confusing because my neighbor said she got unemployment after retiring but maybe she was laid off and I misunderstood.

This whole system is broken honestly. You pay into unemployment insurance your whole career but can't use it when you need to make a major life decision like retiring. Meanwhile people who get fired for cause sometimes still collect benefits.