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The whole system is such BS honestly. They make it so complicated and scary that people are afraid to work even part time. Like why can't they just have simple rules that everyone understands?? I've been too worried to take ANY work because I don't want to accidentally mess something up.
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.
If you do have trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone, I recently discovered this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that helps you get through to agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I used it when my claim was stuck in adjudication and actually got to talk to someone within a few hours instead of spending days trying to call. Might be worth checking out if you run into issues.
I had a similar issue last year where I couldn't get through to NYS Department of Labor no matter how many times I called. A friend told me about this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually reach agents at unemployment offices. I was skeptical at first but tried it and got connected to someone at NYS Department of Labor within like 10 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was able to set up my payment plan the same day instead of spending weeks trying to get through on my own.
Rajan Walker
Just be super careful about the reason for separation part. If you put down the wrong thing it can mess up your whole claim. For layoffs you want to select 'lack of work' or 'company downsizing' - don't accidentally pick anything that makes it sound like you quit or were fired for misconduct.
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Hattie Carson
•Good point! It was definitely a layoff, they closed the location completely. I'll make sure to be clear about that.
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Nadia Zaldivar
Once you get your initial claim filed you'll need to do weekly certifications every week to keep getting benefits. Don't forget about those or you'll lose your payments! And start looking for work right away because they have job search requirements now.
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