Just report the work when you file your weekly claim! You'll probably still get some benefits if it's part-time. The partial benefit formula lets you earn up to a certain amount before your UI gets reduced. Better to do it right than risk the penalties later.

Yeah definitely report it. I was paranoid about this too when I got a temp job but reporting it was no big deal. They just adjusted my weekly benefit amount based on what I earned. The NYS Department of Labor system is set up to handle people working part-time while collecting.

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.

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.

The whole unemployment system is designed to deny claims and make people give up. They know most people can't afford to wait months for appeals. It's disgusting how they treat people who are already struggling financially.

hang in there - appeals do work if you have the right documentation. also make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even while the appeal is pending or you'll lose those weeks

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