How many hours do you have to work to claim unemployment - NYS Department of Labor rules confusing me

The NYS Department of Labor doesn't have a specific weekly hour requirement for eligibility. What matters is your total earnings over the base period, which is usually the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. You need to have earned at least $2,600 in your highest quarter and total wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter earnings. Your varying hours shouldn't disqualify you as long as you meet the wage requirements.

wait i thought you had to work full time to get unemployment?? i was working 35 hours a week before i got fired and they approved my claim no problem. but my friend who worked part time got denied

I had a similar situation with inconsistent hours. The key thing is when you file your weekly claims, you need to report any work you do that week. If you work part-time while collecting, they'll reduce your benefit amount based on how much you earn. There's a formula they use - I think you can earn up to 25% of your weekly benefit rate without any reduction.

The NYS Department of Labor phone system is impossible to get through when you have questions like this. I spent three weeks trying to talk to someone about my eligibility. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration trying to get answers about my specific situation.

Just want to add - make sure you have all your employment records ready when you file. The NYS Department of Labor will verify your wages with your employers, so having accurate dates and earnings info will speed up the process. Don't stress too much about the hour variations - focus on getting your wage information correct.

Thanks everyone for the helpful info! I'm feeling much more confident about my eligibility now. Just to clarify - when you mention the base period being the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters, does that mean if I filed in December 2024, they'd look at my earnings from January through December 2023? Or would it include some of 2024 too? I want to make sure I'm calculating my wages correctly before I submit everything.

I went through this exact same confusion when I filed my claim earlier this year! What really helped me was gathering all my pay stubs and calculating my total earnings for each quarter, not worrying about the specific hours. I had weeks where I worked 20 hours and others where I worked 45, but as long as your total wages meet those thresholds Giovanni mentioned ($2,600 in highest quarter), you should be good. Also, don't forget that the system will ask for employer contact info, so having those details ready will make the application process smoother. The varying schedule actually worked in my favor since some of those higher-hour weeks boosted my quarterly totals.

I'm going through something similar right now - filed my claim two weeks ago with a work history that looked like a roller coaster! Some weeks 25 hours, others 42, depending on client needs at my old job. The good news is what everyone's saying here is accurate - it really is about your total earnings, not the specific weekly hours. When I was filling out the application, I was stressed about explaining the irregular schedule, but the system mainly wanted to know my start/end dates and total wages from each employer. One tip: if you have direct deposit records or bank statements showing your paychecks, those can be helpful backup documentation in case there are any discrepancies with what employers report. The wage verification process took about a week for me, and my varying hours didn't cause any issues at all.