Can you quit your job and still get NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits?

You can potentially qualify for unemployment after quitting, but it has to be for what NYS Department of Labor considers 'good cause.' Substantial reduction in hours can qualify as constructive dismissal. You'll need to document everything - your original work schedule vs current hours, any written communications about the hour cuts, and show you tried to resolve it with your employer first. File your claim and explain the situation thoroughly in your application.

be careful with this! i quit my job last year thinking i had good cause and got denied. took forever to appeal and i never won. NYS Department of Labor is super strict about voluntary quits

The key is proving constructive dismissal. If your hours were cut by more than 20% from your regular schedule without your agreement, that can qualify. But you absolutely must file for unemployment immediately after quitting and be prepared for an adjudication review. They'll contact both you and your employer to verify the circumstances. Keep detailed records of your hour reductions and any attempts to address it with management.

I had a similar situation and ended up calling NYS Department of Labor agents through this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get clarity before I quit. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. The agent I spoke with explained exactly what documentation I'd need and helped me understand if my situation would qualify. Way better than trying to get through the regular phone lines.

THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO SCREW WORKERS! They make it nearly impossible to qualify when you quit even for legitimate reasons. I've seen people get denied for the most obvious cases of constructive dismissal. Document everything but don't count on NYS Department of Labor doing the right thing.

same thing happened to my sister, her hours got cut and she tried to get unemployment. took like 6 weeks just to get an answer and they made her jump through so many hoops

I went through this exact situation about 8 months ago. My hours got cut from 32 to 12 per week at my warehouse job. I documented everything - kept screenshots of my schedule, saved emails from my supervisor about the cuts, and even recorded the date/time of conversations I had with HR about restoring my hours. When I finally quit and filed for unemployment, the whole process took about 5 weeks but I was approved. The key was showing that I made good faith efforts to resolve it first and that the hour reduction was substantial enough to make the job financially unsustainable. Don't let the horror stories scare you off - just make sure you have solid documentation before you quit.

I'm going through something similar right now - my retail hours got slashed from about 30 to maybe 10-12 per week. Reading @Jamal Brown's success story gives me some hope! I've been hesitant to quit because I wasn't sure if I'd qualify for unemployment, but it sounds like if you document everything properly and show you tried to work with your employer first, there's a real chance. I've been keeping screenshots of my schedules and I think I need to start documenting my conversations with management too. Has anyone else had luck with this approach recently? The financial stress from these hour cuts is really getting to me and I need to know my options.

I've been following this thread closely because I'm in a very similar situation - my hours at a department store got cut from 32 to about 14 per week last month. Reading everyone's experiences, especially @Jamal Brown's success story, has been really helpful. I wanted to add that I called the NYS Department of Labor general information line last week (took forever to get through) and they confirmed that substantial hour reductions can qualify as good cause for quitting, but they emphasized that you need to show you attempted to resolve it with your employer first. They also mentioned that the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate that the hour reduction made continued employment unreasonable. I'm now keeping a detailed log of every conversation I have with my supervisor and I plan to send a formal email request to restore my hours before taking any action. It seems like having that paper trail is absolutely crucial for a successful claim.

I just wanted to jump in here as someone who successfully navigated this process about 6 months ago. My situation was almost identical - retail job, hours cut from 35 to 12 per week. The documentation everyone is mentioning is absolutely critical. What really helped my case was creating a timeline document that showed: 1) My original hiring terms and typical schedule, 2) When the hour cuts started and how dramatic they were, 3) Every attempt I made to resolve it (with dates and follow-up emails), and 4) How the reduced income made the job financially unsustainable. I waited about 3 weeks after my final conversation with management before quitting to show I gave them reasonable time to address it. The NYS Department of Labor adjudicator specifically mentioned that my thorough documentation and evidence of good faith efforts to resolve the issue were key factors in approving my claim. It took about 4 weeks total to get approved, but it was worth the wait. Don't let the horror stories discourage you - just be methodical about building your case before you make any moves.

I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation right now! My hours at a coffee shop got cut from around 32 to maybe 14 per week about three weeks ago. Reading through everyone's experiences here, especially @Jamal Brown and @Savannah Vin's success stories, has been so helpful and gives me hope that this might actually work. I've started keeping screenshots of my schedules and I'm planning to have a formal conversation with my manager this week about restoring my hours. The documentation advice everyone is sharing seems crucial - I'm going to start keeping a detailed log of everything. Has anyone dealt with a situation where management says the hour cuts are temporary due to "slow business" but then weeks go by with no improvement? I'm worried they'll just keep stringing me along while I can barely afford groceries. The financial stress is really getting to me but I want to make sure I handle this the right way if I decide to quit and file for unemployment.