How many times can I file for unemployment with NYS Department of Labor?
I'm confused about filing multiple unemployment claims with NYS Department of Labor. I filed for UI benefits last year when I got laid off from my warehouse job, collected for about 4 months before finding new work. Now I'm unemployed again after my new company downsized. Can I file another claim? Is there a limit to how many times you can apply for unemployment benefits in New York? I'm worried they'll reject me for filing too many times.
10 comments
Join the conversation
StellarSurfer
You can file multiple unemployment claims with NYS Department of Labor as long as you meet the eligibility requirements each time. There's no specific limit on how many times you can file, but each new claim period has to be based on qualifying wages from covered employment. Since you worked between your claims, you should be fine to file again.
0 coins
Anastasia Romanov
•Thanks! Do I need to wait a certain amount of time between claims or can I file right away?
0 coins
Sean Kelly
Each unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor is evaluated independently. The key factors are: 1) You must have sufficient base period wages, 2) Your separation must be qualifying (layoff, reduction in force, etc), 3) You must be able and available for work. As long as you meet these criteria, you can file whenever you become unemployed. I've filed three different claims over the past 5 years without any issues.
0 coins
Zara Malik
•What if you quit your job between claims? Does that affect your ability to file the next time?
0 coins
Sean Kelly
•If you quit without good cause, that separation could potentially disqualify you. But if you worked after quitting and then got laid off from the new job, the layoff would be your most recent separation and that's what matters for the new claim.
0 coins
Luca Greco
ive filed like 6 times over the years lol, they dont care as long as you worked enough between claims and didnt get fired for misconduct or anything
0 coins
Anastasia Romanov
•That's reassuring! I was worried there was some kind of lifetime limit or something.
0 coins
Nia Thompson
I had trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor to ask about this exact situation last month. Kept getting busy signals and the online chat was always unavailable. Finally used 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. The agent confirmed I could file a new claim even though I had collected benefits the year before.
0 coins
Mateo Rodriguez
•Never heard of that but might be worth trying if you can't get through the regular way. NYS Department of Labor phone lines are always jammed.
0 coins
Aisha Hussain
Make sure you file as soon as possible after becoming unemployed. There's no waiting period between claims, but you don't want to delay because benefits are only paid from the date you file, not from when you actually lost your job. The weekly claim filing process is the same regardless of how many times you've filed before.
0 coins