Can I collect unemployment while on jury duty in New York?
I got called for jury duty next week and I'm currently collecting unemployment benefits. I'm worried about whether I can still file my weekly claim while serving on the jury. The jury duty could last anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks according to the notice. Do I need to report jury duty to NYS Department of Labor? Will this affect my benefits or weekly claims? I don't want to mess up my unemployment but I obviously can't skip jury duty either.
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Ava Martinez
Yes, you can continue collecting unemployment while on jury duty in New York. Jury duty is considered an excused absence from job search activities. You still need to file your weekly claims as usual, but you should report the jury duty when asked about availability for work. The NYS Department of Labor considers jury service a civic duty that doesn't disqualify you from benefits.
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Dmitry Sokolov
•Thank you! Do I need to provide any documentation to NYS Department of Labor about the jury duty, or is just reporting it on my weekly claim enough?
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Miguel Ramos
I served on a jury for 6 days last year while on unemployment and had no issues. Just make sure you're still marking that you're able and available for work on your weekly certification. The jury duty doesn't count as work so you don't report any earnings from it either.
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QuantumQuasar
•Wait, don't you get paid something for jury duty though? Like $40 a day or something? Wouldn't that count as income?
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Ava Martinez
•Jury duty pay in NY is minimal (around $40/day after the first 3 days) and it's not considered wages for unemployment purposes. It's civic compensation, not employment income, so you don't report it on your weekly claim.
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Zainab Omar
Had the same situation happen to me and I was stressed about it too. Called the NYS Department of Labor to confirm and they told me jury duty is fine. You just continue your normal weekly claims process. The key is being honest about your availability - you're still willing to work, you're just temporarily unavailable due to civic duty.
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Dmitry Sokolov
•How did you manage to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor? I can never get past the busy signal when I try calling.
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Connor Gallagher
•If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone, you might want to check out claimyr.com - they help people get through to unemployment agents. There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I used it last month when I had questions about my claim status and actually got connected to someone within an hour.
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GalacticGladiator
•I tried calling early in the morning around 8 AM right when they opened and got through after about 15 minutes on hold. Later in the day is always impossible. You could also try their online messaging system through the unemployment portal - sometimes they respond faster there than phone calls.
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Yara Sayegh
omg same thing happened to me last month!! i was so worried they would cut off my benefits but everything was fine. just keep filing your weekly claims like normal
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Giovanni Martello
Just wanted to add that if you're selected for a longer trial (like 2+ weeks), you might want to proactively reach out to NYS DOL to document the situation. While jury duty won't disqualify you from benefits, having a paper trail can be helpful if any questions come up later. Also, remember that you'll still need to be actively searching for work on days you're not in court, so keep track of your job search activities for your weekly certification.
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Amina Diallo
•That's really good advice about keeping a paper trail for longer trials. I'm hoping mine won't go that long but it's smart to be prepared. One question though - if I'm in court all day, how am I supposed to do job search activities? Are there any exceptions for the work search requirement during jury duty, or do I need to squeeze in applications before/after court hours?
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