Can I quit my job due to depression and collect unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor?

What kind of medical documentation do they typically want? Just a letter from my therapist or do they need detailed records?

Did you have to appeal or did they approve it right away after adjudication?

They approved it after the adjudication period. No appeal needed thankfully. The key was having really detailed medical documentation.

I already tried talking to HR about accommodations but they basically ignored me. My company is pretty small so I don't think FMLA applies.

That's exactly what I'm worried about - being stuck waiting with no way to get answers. Thanks for the suggestion!

This is really helpful advice about constructive discharge - I hadn't heard that term before. I've been keeping notes about some of the incidents at work but not in a formal journal. Should I go back and try to document dates and details of past events, or just start fresh from now? Also, do you know if there are any specific mental health advocacy organizations in New York that help with unemployment cases like this?

I'd recommend doing both - document what you can remember from the past with approximate dates, and definitely start keeping detailed records going forward. Even if the dates aren't perfect, having a pattern of incidents helps show the ongoing nature of the problem. For advocacy organizations, try contacting the New York State Bar Association's lawyer referral service - they can connect you with attorneys who handle employment and disability law. Also check out the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New York chapter - they have local support groups and resource lists. Mental Health America of New York State is another good resource. Some legal aid societies also have employment law clinics that might be able to help with unemployment appeals if it comes to that. The key is building a strong paper trail that shows both the medical necessity and the workplace conditions that left you no choice.

I'd definitely document both past and current incidents if you can remember specific details and dates. Even approximate timeframes help build your case. For advocacy organizations, try contacting the Mental Health Association of New York State (MHANYS) - they have local chapters and sometimes provide guidance on workplace issues. Also look into your local Legal Aid Society office, as they often handle employment law cases including unemployment appeals. The New York State Bar Association has a lawyer referral service too if you need legal consultation. Remember that the more documentation you have showing the connection between your workplace and your mental health decline, the stronger your constructive discharge argument becomes.

Document both past and current incidents if you can remember specific dates and details - the more comprehensive your record, the better. Even approximate timeframes help. For mental health advocacy in NY, try contacting the Mental Health Association of New York State (mhanys.org) or NAMI-NYS (naminys.org). They often have resources or can refer you to legal aid clinics that handle employment-related mental health cases. The New York Legal Assistance Group (nylag.org) also sometimes takes these types of cases. Having an advocate who understands both mental health and unemployment law can make a huge difference in how you present your case to the NYS Department of Labor.

I'd recommend doing both - documenting past events as best you can remember them (even approximate dates help) and starting a detailed journal going forward. For past incidents, focus on the most significant ones that clearly show how the work environment affected your mental health. Going forward, be very specific about dates, times, what happened, and how it made you feel physically and emotionally. As for advocacy organizations, the New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL) has resources, and the Mental Health Association in New York State sometimes provides guidance on workplace issues. Also check if your area has a local Legal Aid office - they often handle employment discrimination cases that overlap with mental health. Some therapists and psychiatrists are also familiar with the unemployment process and can help phrase their documentation in ways that align with what the Department of Labor typically looks for.

I'd recommend doing both - document what you can remember from the past with approximate dates, and start keeping detailed daily notes going forward. Even if past incidents aren't perfectly detailed, having a pattern documented helps show this is ongoing, not just isolated events. For advocacy organizations, try contacting the New York State Bar Association's lawyer referral service - they often have attorneys who specialize in employment and disability law who can advise on unemployment cases involving mental health. The Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) might also have resources or referrals. Legal Aid Society sometimes handles these cases too if you qualify based on income. Having an advocate can really help navigate the NYS Department of Labor process.

I'd recommend doing both - document past incidents as best you can remember (even approximate dates help) and definitely start keeping detailed records going forward. For advocacy organizations, the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) has local chapters that might be able to point you toward resources. Also check with your county's bar association for free legal clinics - some have employment law specialists who've dealt with unemployment appeals for mental health cases. The New York Legal Aid Society sometimes handles these too. The key is having someone who understands both the unemployment system and how mental health conditions are evaluated by NYS Department of Labor.

I'd recommend doing both - document what you can remember from the past with as much detail as possible (even approximate dates help), and definitely start keeping a detailed journal going forward. For advocacy organizations, try contacting the New York State Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service - they often have attorneys who specialize in employment and disability law. Also check out the Mental Health Association of New York State (mhanys.org) - they have local chapters that sometimes provide resources or referrals for workplace issues. NAMI New York (naminys.org) is another good resource. These organizations might not handle unemployment cases directly, but they often know lawyers or advocates who do. Document everything you can think of - hostile comments from supervisors, unreasonable workload increases, being excluded from meetings, any retaliation for taking mental health days, etc. The more evidence you have of the toxic environment, the stronger your constructive discharge argument will be.

For documentation, I'd say do both - try to reconstruct past incidents as best you can remember them (even approximate dates help) and definitely start keeping detailed records going forward. The more comprehensive your documentation, the stronger your case. For advocacy organizations, the New York State Office of Mental Health has a list of local advocacy groups, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has a New York chapter that might be able to point you toward legal resources. Also check if your area has a legal aid society - many have employment law specialists who've handled these types of unemployment cases before. Some even offer free consultations for people dealing with workplace mental health issues.

@065c29ed9248 might have better insight on the advocacy organizations, but for documentation I'd suggest doing both - try to reconstruct past incidents with as much detail as you can remember (dates, witnesses, what was said/done) and definitely start keeping a detailed journal going forward. Even approximate dates help. For New York advocacy groups, try contacting the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) or NAMI-NYS - they often have resources or can refer you to legal aid clinics that handle employment/benefits issues. Some local bar associations also have mental health law committees that do pro bono consultations. The key is showing a pattern of workplace toxicity that exacerbated your condition, so the more documentation the better.

I'd recommend documenting both - go back and write down what you can remember with approximate dates, then start keeping detailed daily notes going forward. Even if the dates aren't perfect, having a pattern documented helps show the ongoing nature of the problem. For advocacy organizations, try contacting the Mental Health Association of New York State (mhanys.org) or NAMI-NYS (naminys.org). They might not handle unemployment cases directly but they often have referral networks for legal aid. Also check with your county's legal aid society - many have employment law attorneys who've handled these exact situations with NYS Department of Labor claims. The key is showing this wasn't just a bad day but a sustained pattern that made continuing work impossible for your health.

I'd definitely document everything you can remember from the past - dates, specific incidents, witnesses if any. Even approximate timeframes help. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New York has local chapters that might have resources, and Legal Aid Society sometimes handles employment/benefits cases. You could also try contacting the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services - they advocate for people with mental health conditions in various situations including employment issues. Having that historical documentation really strengthens your case for constructive discharge.

I'd definitely document both past events (with as much detail as you can remember) and keep detailed records going forward. Even approximate dates help establish a pattern. For advocacy organizations, try the National Alliance on Mental Illness NY (NAMI-NYS) - they have local chapters and sometimes offer guidance on workplace issues. The New York Legal Assistance Group also has an employment law project that might help. If you're in NYC, the Legal Aid Society's employment law unit has handled cases like this before. Having an advocate or legal aid attorney review your documentation before you quit could really strengthen your case with the NYS Department of Labor.

I'd recommend doing both - document what you can remember from past incidents with approximate dates, and definitely start keeping detailed records going forward. Even if the dates aren't perfect, patterns of behavior matter. For advocacy organizations, try contacting the Mental Health Association of New York State (MHANYS) - they have local chapters and sometimes provide referrals for legal assistance. Also check with your local Legal Aid Society office, as they often handle employment-related cases involving disability discrimination. The New York State Bar Association has a lawyer referral service too if you need someone who specializes in employment law and mental health issues.

I'd recommend doing both - document what you can remember from the past with as much detail as possible (even approximate dates help), and definitely start keeping detailed records going forward. For advocacy organizations, try contacting the National Alliance on Mental Illness New York (NAMI-NYS) - they have local chapters and sometimes provide referrals to legal aid. Also check out the New York State Bar Association's lawyer referral service - they have attorneys who specialize in employment law and disability rights. The Mental Health Association in New York State might have resources too. Even if they can't directly help with unemployment claims, they often know which legal aid societies handle these cases. Having an advocate or attorney review your documentation before you quit could really strengthen your case with the NYS Department of Labor.

This is incredibly helpful - thank you for the HR perspective! I had no idea about the Mental Health Association of New York State resource. Quick question: when you mention reconstructing past events, how detailed should I be? Like should I include specific conversations word-for-word if I can remember them, or is it better to focus on the overall pattern and impact? I'm worried about getting too in the weeds versus painting the bigger picture of how this environment has been affecting my mental health over time.

@20d510c6573b From my experience handling these cases, focus on specific, verifiable incidents rather than trying to recreate exact conversations. Document patterns like: "On [date], supervisor publicly berated me for 10 minutes in front of colleagues about [specific issue]" or "Starting in [month], my workload increased by 40% with no additional support despite my requests for help." Include how each incident affected you - "This caused me to have panic attacks" or "I had to leave early due to anxiety." The NYS Department of Labor wants to see that the workplace conditions were objectively unreasonable AND that they specifically worsened your mental health condition. Also keep copies of any medical records showing increased symptoms or treatment changes that correlate with workplace incidents. The pattern over time is more important than perfect word-for-word recall.

Focus on both - specific incidents help establish the pattern, but the overall impact is what really matters for your case. I'd suggest organizing it chronologically with key incidents detailed (date, what happened, who was involved, how it affected you that day/week) and then summarizing the cumulative effect on your mental health. For example: "March 15th - Manager yelled at me in front of entire team about minor mistake, felt humiliated and had panic attack in bathroom" then connect it to "This type of public humiliation became weekly occurrence, leading to constant anxiety about going to work." The NYS Department of Labor wants to see that reasonable accommodations weren't possible and that staying would have been detrimental to your health. Quality over quantity - a few well-documented incidents with clear impact is better than a long list of minor complaints.

Focus on specific incidents with as much detail as you can accurately remember - dates, what was said/done, who was present, and most importantly how each incident affected your mental health. Word-for-word quotes are great if you're confident in your memory, but don't guess. The pattern is crucial, so organize chronologically if possible. Include your responses too - did you report it? How did management react? This shows you tried to address issues before quitting. Also document the cumulative effect - how the ongoing stress impacted your sleep, therapy sessions, ability to function. The NYS Department of Labor wants to see that quitting was your last reasonable option, not an impulsive decision.

Focus on specific incidents with as much detail as you can accurately remember - dates, what was said/done, who was present, and most importantly, how each incident affected your mental health. Don't worry about getting conversations word-for-word perfect, but do include key phrases or actions that were particularly harmful. The pattern is crucial, so organize your documentation chronologically to show escalation over time. Also document your physical/emotional responses (couldn't sleep, panic attacks, crying, etc.) and any medical appointments or therapy sessions that resulted from workplace incidents. This helps establish the direct connection between work environment and your mental health deterioration that NYS Department of Labor will be looking for.

@20d510c6573b For documentation, focus on both - specific incidents with as much detail as you can remember (dates, what was said, who was present) AND the overall pattern showing escalation or consistent problems. The NYS Department of Labor needs to see that this wasn't just one bad day but an ongoing situation that made your workplace intolerable. Include how each incident affected your mental health - did you have panic attacks after certain meetings? Did you start having trouble sleeping after specific confrontations? That connection between workplace events and your mental health deterioration is crucial for your case. Also document any witnesses to these incidents, as DOL may want to contact them during their investigation.

@20d510c6573b would probably have better insight on this, but from my experience documenting workplace issues, I'd focus on specific incidents that clearly show a pattern rather than trying to remember exact conversations word-for-word. Include dates, what happened, who was involved, and most importantly - how each incident affected your mental health and ability to work. The goal is to show that the workplace became progressively more toxic and unbearable. For example: "On [date], supervisor publicly berated me in front of coworkers for 10 minutes over a minor mistake, which triggered a panic attack and I had to leave early" is more useful than trying to recreate the exact words. The pattern of behavior and its impact on you is what matters most for unemployment claims.