How long to work before collecting unemployment in New York - confused about work history requirements
I just lost my job at a retail store where I worked for about 8 months part-time. Before that I was working at a restaurant for like 3 months but quit because the manager was terrible. I'm trying to figure out if I have enough work history to qualify for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor. Some people are telling me you need a full year of work, others say 6 months is enough. Does anyone know the actual requirements? I'm really stressed about this because I need to pay rent next month.
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Olivia Van-Cleve
The NYS Department of Labor base period requirement is that you need to have worked and earned wages in at least two quarters of your base period, and your total earnings need to meet the minimum threshold. Your base period is typically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. So it's not just about how long you worked, but when you worked and how much you earned during those specific quarters.
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Amara Torres
•This is confusing me even more. What exactly counts as a quarter? Like January-March is one quarter?
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Mason Kaczka
Yes, quarters are 3-month periods: Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec. You also need to have earned at least $2,600 in your highest earning quarter during the base period. The total wages in your base period need to be at least 1.5 times your high quarter wages. It's more complicated than just counting months of work.
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Sophia Russo
•wait so if I made like $1800 in my best quarter I won't qualify at all?? this system is so confusing
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Evelyn Xu
I had a similar situation last year and couldn't get through to NYS Department of Labor on the phone for weeks to get answers about my work history. Finally used this service called claimyr.com that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. The agent was able to look up my exact wage records and tell me if I qualified right away instead of me guessing.
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Dominic Green
•How much does something like that cost though? Seems like it should be free to get your own wage information.
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Evelyn Xu
•The service helps you skip the busy phone lines basically. Way better than sitting on hold for hours or getting disconnected like I was doing.
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Hannah Flores
Don't forget you also need to meet the work search requirements once you start collecting. You have to apply for jobs and keep a log of your job search activities. NYS Department of Labor can audit this stuff so keep good records!
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Kayla Jacobson
the whole system is designed to make it hard for working people to get benefits they paid into... I worked two jobs for years and when I finally needed UI they made me jump through so many hoops
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William Rivera
•Same here, such a pain dealing with all their requirements and paperwork
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