Can I sign up for unemployment if I quit my job in NY?
I've been working at this manufacturing plant for about 8 months and the working conditions are honestly terrible. Management keeps cutting safety corners and I'm worried about getting hurt. My supervisor also keeps changing my schedule without notice which makes it impossible to plan anything. I'm thinking about quitting but I really need the income while I look for something else. Can I sign up for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor if I quit voluntarily? I've heard mixed things about this and don't want to make a mistake that leaves me with no income.
12 comments
Join the conversation
Ravi Malhotra
Generally speaking, you can't get unemployment if you quit without good cause. NYS Department of Labor has pretty strict rules about this. However, there are some exceptions - unsafe working conditions might qualify as good cause depending on the specifics. You'd need to document everything thoroughly though.
0 coins
Isabella Costa
•What kind of documentation would I need? I haven't been keeping records but I could start now.
0 coins
Freya Christensen
You need to be very careful here. NYS Department of Labor will investigate any quit situation thoroughly during adjudication. For unsafe conditions, you typically need to show you complained to management first and they refused to fix the problems. Just quitting because you don't like the job won't qualify you. Keep detailed records of safety violations, dates, witnesses, and any complaints you make.
0 coins
Omar Farouk
•This is exactly right. I quit my last job for harassment and had to go through a whole appeal process even with documentation.
0 coins
Chloe Davis
honestly the unemployment system is so messed up, they'll find any reason to deny you benefits. i tried to get UI after quitting a toxic job and they denied me even though my boss was verbally abusive. took forever to get through their adjudication process too
0 coins
AstroAlpha
•Did you end up appealing the decision? Sometimes the initial determination gets overturned if you have good documentation and representation.
0 coins
Diego Chavez
I was in a similar situation last year where I couldn't get through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions before making my decision. The phone lines are always busy and their online chat never worked for me. I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me actually reach a real person at the unemployment office. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Was really helpful for getting specific guidance about my situation before I made any decisions.
0 coins
Isabella Costa
•That's interesting, I didn't know there were services like that. How much does it cost?
0 coins
Diego Chavez
•I'd rather not get into pricing here but it was worth it for me to get real answers instead of guessing. The peace of mind was valuable.
0 coins
Anastasia Smirnova
you might want to look into constructive discharge too. if they're making working conditions so bad that any reasonable person would quit, that could be treated like being fired instead of quitting
0 coins
Freya Christensen
•Good point about constructive discharge, but that's an even higher bar to meet than good cause. You'd need to show the employer deliberately made conditions intolerable to force you out.
0 coins
Sean O'Brien
Been following this thread and just wanted to say hang in there. Dealing with bad work situations is really stressful. Whatever you decide, make sure you have a plan first.
0 coins