How can I qualify for unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor?

Yes, you can potentially qualify for unemployment benefits in New York! For regular UI benefits, you need to have worked and earned wages in at least two quarters during your base period (usually the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters). You also need to have earned at least $2,700 in one quarter and total wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter earnings. Since your hours were reduced significantly, this could qualify as partial unemployment if you're earning less than your weekly benefit amount.

definitely apply! i had similar situation last year where my restaurant cut everyone's hours and i qualified for partial benefits. you have to be available for work and actively seeking full-time employment though. make sure you document your job search activities because NYS Department of Labor requires you to log at least 3 work search activities per week.

The system is so confusing honestly. I tried to apply once and gave up halfway through because I couldn't figure out if my previous job counted or not. Good luck with your application though!

To answer your follow-up question - yes, you need to continue your job search even while working reduced hours. You'll report your earnings when you file your weekly claims, and NYS Department of Labor will calculate your partial benefit amount. If you're having trouble getting through to them for specific questions about your situation, I recently discovered this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps people actually reach unemployment agents by phone. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you quit your job to look for something better, you won't qualify. The reduction in hours situation you described should qualify you though since it's not your fault. Just make sure you can document that your employer reduced your schedule significantly.