Do federal employees get unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor?
My husband worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation field office in Albany for 8 years before his position was eliminated last month due to budget cuts. We're trying to figure out if he can file for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor or if there's some different process for federal workers. I've been searching online but getting conflicting information. Has anyone here dealt with unemployment after federal employment? We live in Buffalo and really need to know what our options are.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
Federal employees are eligible for unemployment benefits, but it works differently than regular state UI. Your husband would file through NYS Department of Labor like anyone else, but the claim is actually funded by the federal government under a program called UCFE (Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees). The benefit amount and duration are the same as regular unemployment - it's just the funding source that's different.
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Giovanni Mancini
•Thank you! So he would still use the my.ny.gov website to file his weekly claims? And the job search requirements would be the same?
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Dylan Cooper
Yes federal workers get unemployment but there can be delays with the paperwork since NYS Department of Labor has to coordinate with the federal agency. When I was laid off from the post office it took almost 6 weeks for my first payment because they had to verify my employment history with USPS. Make sure your husband gets a copy of his SF-8 form from HR before his last day - that's the federal separation notice and it speeds up the process.
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Sofia Morales
•What's an SF-8 form?? I've never heard of that and I worked for the VA for 3 years before getting laid off. My claim went through fine without any special forms.
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Dylan Cooper
•SF-8 is the official federal notice of personnel action for separations. Maybe VA processed yours differently but having it definitely helped with my claim.
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StarSailor
ugh the whole system is so confusing, especially when you throw federal employment into the mix! I had such a hard time getting through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about my regular claim, can't imagine how complicated it must be for federal workers
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Dmitry Ivanov
•I actually found a service called Claimyr that helped me get through to NYS Department of Labor agents when I couldn't reach them myself. They have this system that calls for you and gets you connected to a real person. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Might be worth trying if you run into issues with the federal employment verification process.
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Ava Garcia
My sister worked for customs and border protection and when she got unemployment last year the process was exactly the same as regular unemployment. Filed online, did weekly claims, had to do job searches. Only difference was it said UCFE on her payment stub instead of regular UI. Don't overthink it - just file normally through NYS Department of Labor.
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Giovanni Mancini
•That's reassuring! I was worried there would be a completely different system. We'll have him file this week.
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Miguel Silva
One thing to watch out for - if your husband has any unused annual leave that gets paid out, that might affect his unemployment start date. Federal agencies sometimes delay the effective separation date until after leave payouts are finished. Make sure NYS Department of Labor has the correct last day of work vs last day of pay.
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