Can I get ny unemployment if I had to quit in April due to schools closing and no childcare?

From what I know, if you quit for a "good cause" like lack of childcare during school closures, you should be eligible. My sister went thru this exact same thing in June and eventually got approved. Just make sure you answered that questionnaire with all the details - especially mention that you tried to find alternatives and that your employer wouldn't accommodate your situation.

After struggling for weeks trying to reach someone at NY unemployment, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to an actual human at the unemployment office! Talking to an agent got my benefits released within days after being stuck in pending for 6 weeks. It was the only way I could talk to a live agent and totally worth it. Here's a video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

You should qualify. NY unemployment considers lack of childcare a good cause to leave employment especially with the school closures. Document EVERYTHING tho - dates schools closed, your conversations with your employer about accommodation, attempts to find childcare. You'll probably have a phone interview at some point where they'll ask about this.

The system is such a joke right now. I've been waiting 11 weeks for my claim to process because I had a "similar situation" (had to quit to take care of my elderly mom). They keep saying "we're reviewing your claim" but nothing hapens. Good luck calling them - I tried 78 times in one day and couldn't get through. The whole thing is a disaster.

I quit for childcare reasons too and had to really fight for my benefits. Their first response was a denial letter because they classified it as "quitting without good cause" which is BS. I had to appeal and it was approved on appeal. Don't take no for an answer if they initially deny you!

Make sure u mention that you tried to find alternative arrangements and your employer wouldn't accommodate you. That's what got me approved in a similar situation. Also be prepared to wait forever...the NY unemployment backlog is insane rn.

Here's what you need to know about quitting due to childcare issues with NY unemployment: First, yes this SHOULD qualify as "good cause" for leaving employment, especially during the pandemic period when schools closed. The key factors that will determine eligibility: 1. You must demonstrate you had no reasonable alternatives (which sounds like your case) 2. You need to show you made efforts to keep your job (asking for accommodation, schedule changes, etc) 3. Document that the childcare issue was sudden and unexpected (the school closure) 4. Be prepared to show you've been looking for work that accommodates your childcare situation Most importantly, you need to actually speak with someone at NYSDOL. After submitting your questionnaire, you'll likely be stuck waiting for weeks unless you can get an agent on the phone to review your case. I highly recommend using claimyr.com to connect with an agent. They'll call NYSDOL for you and connect you when they get through. I was stuck for 7 weeks in pending status until I used their service and got my case resolved in minutes once I finally spoke to someone. Don't wait - the longer your claim sits without human intervention, the more likely it gets lost in their system.

My neighbor had the exact same situation last summer. She had to send in school closure notices and a letter explaining she had no family nearby to help. Took 3 months but she eventually got approved retroactively. The system is slooooooow but it does work eventually.

you need to call them. no matter what anyone says here, your claim is going to sit in limbo until you talk to someone. I had the EXACT same issue and my claim just sat there for 7 weeks after filling out that questionnaire. the website is useless. once I finally got someone on the phone it was fixed in 10 minutes.

im gonna be honest with u - it really depends on which claims examiner gets ur case. some will approve for childcare reasons and some wont. its totally inconsistent. i had to appeal twice before getting approved for almost the same situation.

I cant beleive nobody has mentioned that they changed the rules about this! As of January, NY unemployment is supposed to consider childcare issues due to school/daycare closures as a valid reason to quit. You should be good but the system is so backed up it might take a while.

Update on my similar situation: quit in February for childcare, applied in March, got questionnaire in April, and FINALLY got approved last week. But here's the thing - they only approved me after I got through to an actual person who reviewed my case. The online system is useless for complicated cases like ours.