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Wait I thought this was only for people who didn't have taxes taken out? I'm so confused about all these tax changes
The unemployment measurement system is completely broken anyway. I had perfect work history and they still made me jump through hoops for months. The NYS Department of Labor acts like they're doing you a favor when it's YOUR money from taxes you already paid!!
To answer your original question more specifically - unemployment measurement for NYS Department of Labor benefits involves: 1) Base period wage requirements (need wages in at least 2 quarters), 2) Weekly benefit calculation (roughly 50% of your average weekly wage up to the maximum), 3) Ongoing eligibility through work search activities. Your $52K salary should easily meet the wage requirements assuming it was spread across multiple quarters.
I had this same frustration last year! What really helped me was using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually get through to a NYS Department of Labor representative. They helped me understand that my job search strategy needed adjustment - turns out I wasn't targeting the right types of positions for my background. There's a helpful video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Sometimes talking to an actual person at NYS Department of Labor can give you insights the website can't.
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED! They say unemployment is low but these companies are posting fake job listings and ghost candidates after interviews. I've been unemployed for 6 months and NYS Department of Labor just keeps telling me to keep looking. Meanwhile my benefits are running out soon.
WAIT so they don't use your annual salary?? I've been assuming my $48k salary would just be divided by 52 weeks or something. This is so confusing why can't they just make it simple!
Katherine Hunter
Ugh I hate how complicated they make this stuff seem. Been dealing with NYS Department of Labor for months trying to get answers about my claim status. If you need to actually talk to someone there about payback rules or anything else, I finally found something that works - there's this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that gets you through to actual agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.
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Sean Matthews
•Thanks for the tip! I might need that if I run into any issues with my weekly claims.
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Lucas Parker
Just to be super clear - you earned these benefits through your work history. Your employer paid unemployment insurance taxes specifically for this purpose. Don't let anyone make you feel guilty about using a system you paid into!
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