How long after being fired can I apply for NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits?
Got terminated from my retail job yesterday and I'm trying to figure out the timing for filing. My manager said something about waiting but I'm not sure if that's accurate. Can I file right away with NYS Department of Labor or do I need to wait a certain period? I'm worried about missing some kind of deadline and losing benefits. Has anyone filed immediately after termination?
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Chloe Zhang
You can file your unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor immediately after termination. There's no waiting period to submit your application. In fact, you should file as soon as possible because there's a one-week waiting period before benefits begin, and your claim is backdated to when you first file, not when you lost your job.
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Sophia Carter
•Thank you! So I should go ahead and file today then? I was worried I'd mess something up by filing too early.
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Brandon Parker
yeah file right away, i waited like 2 weeks after getting fired and regretted it because you cant get those weeks back once you miss them
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Adriana Cohn
The key thing is making sure you meet the eligibility requirements. Being fired doesn't automatically disqualify you - it depends on the reason. If it was for misconduct, you might face adjudication. But if it was performance issues, layoffs, or other non-misconduct reasons, you should be fine. NYS Department of Labor will investigate either way.
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Jace Caspullo
•What counts as misconduct exactly? I was let go for missing too many days but I have medical documentation for most of them.
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Adriana Cohn
•Medical absences typically aren't considered misconduct, especially with documentation. Deliberate rule violations, theft, or insubordination are more what they're looking for.
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Melody Miles
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I needed to check on my claim status after filing. Kept getting busy signals and disconnected calls. Someone told me about this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually reach an agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of calling.
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Sophia Carter
•Is it legit? I'm always skeptical of third-party services for government stuff.
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Melody Miles
•Yeah it's real. They just help you get through the phone queue faster. Was way better than spending my whole day redialing the same number.
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
The NYS Department of Labor system is so broken. I filed immediately when I got fired last year and it STILL took them 6 weeks to process my claim. Then they wanted all this additional documentation that they never asked for initially. It's like they design the system to frustrate people into giving up.
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Eva St. Cyr
•That's rough but at least you got it eventually right? Better than not filing at all.
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