How long until I can apply for unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor?
Just got laid off yesterday from my retail job after 2 years. Manager said it was due to store restructuring and gave me my final paycheck. I've never filed for unemployment before and I'm honestly pretty confused about the whole process. Do I need to wait a certain amount of time before I can apply for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor? Should I file immediately or is there some kind of waiting period? Also not sure if I qualify since I was only part-time for the last 8 months (was full-time before that). Any guidance would be really appreciated since I need to figure out my finances ASAP.
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NeonNova
You can file your unemployment claim immediately! There's no waiting period to submit your application with NYS Department of Labor. In fact, you should file as soon as possible because there's a one-week waiting period before you can start receiving benefits, and this waiting week starts counting from when you file, not when you lost your job. Go to my.ny.gov to start your claim online. Since you worked for 2 years, you should definitely qualify even with the part-time period.
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Ethan Wilson
•Thank you! That's a relief. Should I gather any specific documents before I start the online application?
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Yuki Tanaka
Yes, definitely file right away. You'll need your Social Security number, driver's license, and employment history for the past 18 months. Also gather your pay stubs if you have them and any separation paperwork from your employer. The NYS Department of Labor system will ask for detailed info about your last employer including their address and reason for separation. Since you said it was restructuring, that should qualify as a layoff which is good for your claim.
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Ethan Wilson
•Got it, I think I have most of that stuff. Is there anything I should be careful about when filling it out?
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Yuki Tanaka
•Just be completely honest about everything, especially the reason you left. Don't try to embellish or downplay anything because NYS Department of Labor will verify with your employer.
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Carmen Diaz
ugh the nys department of labor website is such a pain to use sometimes, took me forever to get through the application when i filed last year
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Andre Laurent
•I had issues with the my.ny.gov site too when I applied. It kept timing out during peak hours. Try applying early morning or late evening when fewer people are online.
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Emily Jackson
I was in a similar situation last year and had trouble reaching anyone at NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about my application. The phone lines are always busy and the callback system doesn't work half the time. I ended up using 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. Saved me hours of trying to call myself and I got my questions answered the same day.
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Liam Mendez
•interesting, never heard of that before but might be worth checking out if the phone situation is really that bad
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Ethan Wilson
•Thanks for the tip! Hopefully I won't need to call but good to know there are options if I get stuck.
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Sophia Nguyen
One thing to keep in mind is that even though you can file immediately, it might take a few weeks for your claim to be processed and approved. NYS Department of Labor has to verify your employment history and sometimes that takes time. Don't panic if you don't see payments right away. Also make sure you start doing your weekly claims as soon as you're able to - that's how you actually request the money each week.
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Ethan Wilson
•Weekly claims? I thought once you applied you just automatically got paid?
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Sophia Nguyen
•Nope, you have to certify each week that you're still unemployed and looking for work. It's called filing your weekly claim and you do it online every week.
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