How does NYS Department of Labor calculate my weekly unemployment benefit amount?
I just got approved for unemployment after losing my restaurant job and I'm confused about how they figured out my weekly benefit amount. My benefit rate shows $365 per week but I have no idea how they came up with that number. I made different amounts each week because of tips and my hours varied a lot. Does anyone know how NYS Department of Labor actually calculates this? I want to make sure they got it right because this seems higher than I expected.
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Sean Doyle
NYS Department of Labor uses your base period wages to calculate your weekly benefit rate. They look at the highest quarter of earnings in your base period and divide by 26. Your base period is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed. So if you filed in January 2025, they'd look at your wages from October 2023 through September 2024. Tips and variable hours are included in this calculation as long as they were reported wages.
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StarStrider
•That makes more sense! I had a really good summer quarter last year with overtime and higher tip reporting. Thank you for explaining the base period thing.
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Zara Rashid
wait so they dont use your most recent pay?? i thought they would look at like my last few paychecks or something
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Sean Doyle
•No, they specifically don't use your most recent quarter because that's often incomplete when you file. The base period system ensures they have complete quarterly wage data from your employer reports.
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Luca Romano
I had the same confusion when I got laid off from my construction job. My benefit amount seemed way off at first but then I realized they were using my wages from when I was working a different job that paid more. The whole base period thing is confusing but once you understand it the calculation makes sense. You can actually request a monetary determination review if you think there's an error in your wage history.
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StarStrider
•How do you request that review? I want to double check they have all my employers listed correctly.
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Luca Romano
•You can call NYS Department of Labor or submit a request through your online account. But honestly good luck getting through on the phone - I spent weeks trying to reach someone about my claim issues. I ended up using this service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com, they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration.
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Nia Jackson
The maximum weekly benefit rate in NY is $504 right now so $365 sounds reasonable depending on your earnings history. Just remember you have to report any work you do each week when you file your weekly claim or they'll hit you with an overpayment later.
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StarStrider
•Good point about reporting work. I might pick up some shifts here and there while job hunting.
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Mateo Hernandez
Been there! The calculation threw me off too when I first filed. One thing to watch out for is if you had multiple jobs during your base period - sometimes employers don't report wages correctly or on time and it can affect your benefit calculation.
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