Do you get unemployment benefits if you quit your job in New York?

Generally speaking, if you quit your job voluntarily, you won't be eligible for unemployment benefits in New York. However, there are some exceptions for what's called 'good cause' reasons. If your employer is not accommodating your previously agreed-upon availability and this creates a substantial change in your working conditions, you might have a case. You'd need to document everything - your original availability agreement, the schedule conflicts, any communications with your manager about the issue. The NYS Department of Labor will review your case during adjudication to determine if you had good cause to quit.

Before you quit, try to get your employer to fire you instead if possible. I know that sounds weird but hear me out - if you can document that they're not following your agreed schedule and it's making it impossible for you to work, they might let you go rather than deal with the hassle. That way you'd definitely qualify for UI benefits. If you do end up quitting, make sure you have EVERYTHING documented - emails, texts, your original job application or interview notes about availability, everything.

ugh i quit my job last year and they denied my claim immediately. took forever to appeal and i still lost. the system is rigged against workers who cant take abuse from employers

I actually got through to someone at NYS Department of Labor about this exact situation last month using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have this system that helps you get connected to actual agents instead of waiting on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. The agent I spoke with explained that schedule changes can qualify as good cause if they're substantial and you tried to work it out with your employer first. Might be worth getting official guidance before you make any decisions.

Just want to add that even if you think you have good cause, be prepared for your claim to go into adjudication. This means they'll investigate your case which can take several weeks. During this time you won't receive any payments. Make sure you keep filing your weekly claims even during adjudication though, or you could lose benefits for those weeks if you're eventually approved.

Have you tried talking to your manager or HR about this issue in writing? Before you quit, I'd recommend sending an email documenting your original availability agreement and requesting accommodation for your school schedule. This creates a paper trail that shows you tried to resolve the issue before leaving. If they refuse or ignore your request, that strengthens your case for "good cause" if you do end up quitting. Also, check if your employee handbook mentions anything about scheduling accommodations - sometimes there are policies they're supposed to follow that they're not honoring.

I went through something similar when I was in college. My employer kept ignoring my class schedule even though I gave it to them at the start of each semester. What really helped my case was keeping a detailed log - I wrote down every time they scheduled me during class hours, every conversation I had with my manager about it, and took screenshots of my schedule vs my class times. I also sent a formal email to HR explaining the situation and requesting they honor my original availability agreement. When they didn't respond, I quit and filed for unemployment. It took about 6 weeks for adjudication, but I was approved because I could prove I tried to resolve it and that the schedule conflicts made it impossible to keep the job. The key is having documentation that shows you made good faith efforts to work with them first.