Can you collect unemployment if you have vacation time remaining from previous job?

You can absolutely file for unemployment even if you have vacation pay coming. The key thing is when you receive it versus when your employment actually ended. NYS Department of Labor considers the vacation pay as wages for the period it covers, so it might affect specific weeks but won't prevent you from filing your initial claim. You should report the vacation pay when you receive it during your weekly claim certification.

yeah i had vacation pay too when i got laid off last year. just make sure u report it on the right week when u actually get the money, not when u earned it

Actually, it depends on how much vacation pay you're getting and what weeks it covers. If the vacation pay amount exceeds your weekly benefit amount for those weeks, you might not be eligible for unemployment benefits during those specific weeks. But you can still file your claim and then report the vacation pay when you do your weekly certifications. The system will automatically calculate if you're eligible for that week or not.

I was in a similar situation and had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about this exact thing. The phone lines are always busy and when I did get through, I got conflicting information. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent who could explain how vacation pay affects weekly claims. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Made the whole process way less stressful than trying to navigate it alone.

dont overthink it just file and be honest about everything. the worst that happens is they tell u to wait a week or two

I went through this same situation a few months ago. The important thing to remember is that vacation pay is allocated to specific time periods - usually the weeks immediately following your last day of work. So if you got laid off on a Friday and have 2 weeks of vacation pay coming, that pay typically covers the next two weeks. During those weeks, you might not be eligible for unemployment benefits (depending on the amount), but after that period ends, your regular benefits should kick in. Definitely file your initial claim right away though - there's usually a waiting period anyway, and you don't want to delay the process. Just be upfront about the vacation pay situation when you do your weekly certifications.