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The NYS Department of Labor phone system is impossible to get through to ask these questions directly. I spent weeks trying to reach someone about my specific situation. Finally used this service called claimyr.com that actually got me connected to an agent who could explain my eligibility. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Was way easier than trying to navigate the phone maze myself.
what everyone's saying is right but honestly the thing most associated with unemployment in my experience is just WAITING. waiting for your claim to get processed, waiting during adjudication if they need to verify something, waiting for your weekly payments to hit your account. the system is slow and theres not much you can do about it except be patient
The waiting is definitely the worst part! But to answer your original question, the three main things associated with unemployment eligibility are: 1) involuntary job loss or quitting with good cause, 2) meeting the wage/work history requirements in your base period, and 3) being able and available to work. If you meet all three, you should be approved assuming you file correctly.
The whole NYS Department of Labor system is a JOKE. They take forever to process anything and when you finally get someone on the phone they act like they're doing you a favor. I waited 7 weeks for my claim to get approved and that was BEFORE any complications!
One thing that tripped me up was the weekly benefit amount calculation. The system does this automatically based on your earnings history, but it helps to understand how they calculate it. They look at your highest quarter of earnings in your base period and divide by 26. Don't worry if the amount seems low at first - you can always appeal if you think there's an error in your wage records.
Yara Sayegh
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about my benefit calculation and someone recommended checking out claimyr.com - they help you actually reach an agent by phone. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was able to get my questions answered about the funding and how my benefit amount was calculated.
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StarSeeker
•Thanks for the tip! I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for weeks with no luck.
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NebulaNova
just to add - during the pandemic there was federal funding for extended benefits but that's all ended now. regular state unemployment is back to being funded the normal way through employer taxes
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