Can travel nurses get unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor?
I've been working as a travel nurse for the past two years, mostly 13-week contracts in different hospitals around NY. My last assignment ended three weeks ago and I haven't been able to find another placement yet. The agency I work with says there's nothing available right now that matches my specialty. Can I file for unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor even though I'm technically a contractor? I've been paying into the system but I'm not sure if travel nurses qualify since we move between assignments. Has anyone else in healthcare been through this process?
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Mia Alvarez
Yes, you can definitely apply for unemployment benefits as a travel nurse in NY! The key factor is whether you were classified as an employee (W-2) or independent contractor (1099). If your agency treated you as an employee and withheld taxes including unemployment insurance, you should be eligible. You'll need to file your claim and list your most recent employer, which would be the staffing agency, not the hospital where you worked.
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Zachary Hughes
•Thanks! I do get W-2s from my agency, so that's good news. Do I need to include all the different hospitals I worked at or just the agency?
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Carter Holmes
I'm a travel nurse too and got approved for UI benefits last year between contracts. You only report the staffing agency as your employer since they're the ones who actually employ you. The hospitals are just your work locations. Make sure you report that you're actively looking for work - travel nursing assignments count as job search activities. Keep records of applications you submit through your agency and any other nursing job boards you use.
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Sophia Long
•How long did your approval process take? I filed two weeks ago and it's still showing 'under review' on my ny.gov account.
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Angelica Smith
Be careful about the job search requirements though. NYS Department of Labor requires you to apply for work each week, and they might question why you're only looking for travel assignments instead of permanent positions. I had to explain in my weekly claims that travel nursing is my profession and permanent hospital jobs in my area don't pay enough to support my family.
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Zachary Hughes
•That's a good point. Should I be applying for staff positions too even though I don't really want them?
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Mia Alvarez
•You can focus on travel positions but document everything. If they question your job search, you can explain that travel nursing is your established career path and the pay difference is significant.
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Logan Greenburg
ugh the NYS Department of Labor phone system is impossible to get through to ask questions like this. i've been trying to call for weeks about my own claim and just get disconnected every time. the website doesn't have clear info for contractors either
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Charlotte Jones
•I had the same problem trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor about my adjudication. Someone on another forum mentioned using Claimyr.com - it's a service that calls the unemployment office for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. I tried it last week and finally got through after months of trying on my own. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that explains how it works. Worth checking out if you're stuck in phone hell like I was.
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Lucas Bey
Travel nursing is such a weird employment situation. Sometimes I think the whole system isn't set up for people like us who work contract to contract. At least you're getting W-2s though - some agencies try to classify nurses as independent contractors to avoid paying into unemployment insurance.
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
I went through this exact situation last year! As a travel nurse, you're definitely eligible for unemployment benefits between contracts as long as you're getting W-2s from your agency. When I filed, I had to be really clear about my employment structure - the staffing agency is your actual employer, not the hospitals. One tip: when you're doing your weekly certifications, make sure to document all your job search activities including checking with your agency for new assignments, applying through other travel nursing companies, and looking at job boards like TravelNurseSource. The DOL wants to see that you're actively seeking work in your field. Also, don't be discouraged if it takes a few weeks to get approved - they sometimes need extra time to verify employment with staffing agencies since it's not as straightforward as traditional employment.
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Lucas Notre-Dame
•This is really helpful, thank you! I'm curious about the weekly certification process - when you say document job search activities, do you mean keeping like a written log of what you applied for? And did you have any issues with the DOL questioning why there might be gaps between when assignments end and new ones start? I'm worried they might think I'm being too picky about contracts when really it's just that the right opportunities aren't always available immediately in travel nursing.
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