Do you have to claim vacation pay on unemployment benefits in NY?

Yes, you absolutely need to report vacation pay on your weekly claims. NYS Department of Labor considers vacation payout as wages for the weeks it covers, even if you're not actually working. When you receive the vacation pay, it should come with documentation showing which work weeks it's intended to cover. You'll need to report it during those specific weeks on your weekly certification.

Wait this is so confusing... I thought vacation pay was different from regular wages? When I got laid off they gave me severance AND vacation pay and told me they were separate things. Now I'm worried I messed up my claims from last year.

Had this exact situation last year. I tried calling NYS Department of Labor about 20 times and kept getting disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. The agent explained that I needed to divide my vacation payout by my weekly salary to figure out how many weeks it covered, then report it accordingly.

ugh why does everything with unemployment have to be so complicated?? like they should just tell you straight up what counts and what doesn't instead of making us guess

Just to be extra clear for OP - vacation pay is considered wages for unemployment purposes in New York. The key is figuring out the weekly amount it represents. If your vacation payout is $2,800 and your previous weekly gross was $700, that covers 4 weeks of benefits. You'd report $700 for each of those 4 weeks on your weekly claims, which would likely make you ineligible for UI benefits during those weeks since it exceeds the partial benefit threshold.

This is really helpful info everyone! I'm in a similar boat - got laid off three weeks ago and have about $1,500 in vacation pay coming. Based on what Ryan explained, I need to calculate my weekly gross salary and figure out how many weeks the vacation pay covers. My weekly gross was around $600, so that's about 2.5 weeks worth. Do I report the full $600 for 2 weeks and then $300 for the partial week, or do I spread it evenly across 3 weeks? Also wondering if anyone knows - does the vacation pay week start from when you actually receive the payment, or from when your employment ended?

Just went through this exact situation a few months ago! The key thing to remember is that vacation pay gets allocated to the weeks it's supposed to cover based on your normal work schedule, not when you actually receive the lump sum. When I got my vacation payout, I had to contact my former employer's HR to get a breakdown showing which specific weeks the vacation time was accrued for. NYS Department of Labor was pretty strict about this - they wanted documentation showing the vacation weeks, not just the total dollar amount. I'd recommend reaching out to your HR department ASAP to get that breakdown before you file your weekly claims. It saved me a lot of headaches later when they audited my claim!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now - just filed for unemployment after being laid off two weeks ago. Reading through all these responses is really eye-opening because I honestly had no idea vacation pay would affect my benefits! My company is paying out about $1,200 in vacation time next month and I was planning to just not mention it since I'm not actually working. Sounds like that would have been a big mistake. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here - definitely going to call my HR department tomorrow to get that weekly breakdown Omar mentioned. Better to get it right from the start than deal with audit issues later!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in week 3 of unemployment and just realized my former employer is going to send me about $900 in vacation pay next week. Based on everyone's advice here, I need to calculate how many weeks this covers (my weekly gross was about $450, so that's 2 weeks) and report it on my weekly claims for those periods. The part about getting documentation from HR showing which specific weeks the vacation covers is something I never would have thought of - definitely calling them tomorrow. It's frustrating how unclear the official guidance is on this stuff, but at least we have communities like this to help each other figure it out!

This whole thread has been a game-changer for me! I got laid off about 10 days ago and have been dreading dealing with the unemployment system. My employer mentioned they'll be paying out around $1,800 in accrued vacation time, and honestly I was just going to wing it when it came to reporting. Reading everyone's experiences here - especially the part about getting specific week breakdowns from HR and the potential audit issues if you don't report correctly - has convinced me to do this right from the start. It's crazy how something that seems straightforward (getting paid for unused vacation) becomes so complicated when unemployment benefits are involved. Really grateful for communities like this where people actually share practical advice instead of just generic "contact the department" responses!

I went through this exact situation about 6 months ago and can confirm what everyone is saying here - vacation pay absolutely needs to be reported and it will likely make you ineligible for benefits during those weeks. One thing I'd add that I learned the hard way: make sure you understand the difference between "vacation pay" and "payment in lieu of notice" if your employer offers both. My company gave me 2 weeks pay in lieu of notice (which didn't affect my unemployment) plus vacation payout (which did). Also, keep detailed records of everything - dates, amounts, which weeks it covers, etc. The DOL can and will ask for documentation later, and having it organized from the start saves a lot of stress. The system is definitely confusing but following the rules exactly is worth it to avoid overpayment issues down the road.

This is exactly the kind of detailed breakdown I needed! I'm currently in week 2 of unemployment after getting laid off from my job in Albany. My former employer just sent me paperwork showing they'll be paying out $3,200 in vacation time next Friday. Based on my previous weekly gross of $800, that works out to exactly 4 weeks of coverage. What's really helpful from reading everyone's experiences is understanding that I need to report this for the 4 weeks immediately following my last day of work, not spread it out randomly. I'm definitely going to contact my HR department to get official documentation showing the weekly breakdown - seems like that's crucial for staying compliant with DOL requirements. It's frustrating that this isn't explained clearly on the official website, but threads like this are invaluable for navigating the system properly!