How many unemployment days can you opt to claim in NYS Department of Labor system?
I'm trying to figure out the maximum number of days I can claim unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor. My employer laid me off last month and I need to know how many unemployment days I can opt to receive before my benefits run out. I've been filing my weekly claims but I'm confused about the total duration. Does anyone know if there's a limit on how many unemployment days you can opt for in New York? I want to make sure I'm planning my job search timeline correctly.
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Tami Morgan
In New York, regular unemployment insurance (UI) provides up to 26 weeks of benefits, which equals 182 days if you're claiming every day. However, you typically file weekly claims, not daily ones. Your benefit year lasts 52 weeks from when you first filed your claim. The number of weeks you can actually collect depends on your work history and wages during your base period.
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Maya Diaz
•Thanks! So it's 26 weeks maximum, not days? I was getting confused by the terminology on the NYS Department of Labor website.
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Rami Samuels
yeah its 26 weeks but you gotta keep filing those weekly claims and doing your job search stuff or they'll cut you off. i learned that the hard way when i missed filing one week
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Haley Bennett
•Exactly right about the weekly filing requirement. You also need to complete three job search activities per week to remain eligible. Miss your weekly claim filing and you could lose that week's benefits permanently.
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Douglas Foster
I was in a similar situation and had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about my benefit duration. I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me time instead of calling over and over.
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Maya Diaz
•How does that work exactly? I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for days and keep getting disconnected.
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Douglas Foster
•Basically they handle the calling process for you and get you connected when an agent becomes available. Way better than sitting on hold for hours or getting hung up on.
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Nina Chan
Wait, are we talking about regular unemployment or standby? Because if you're on standby status the rules are totally different. I was on standby for 6 months last year when my factory had temporary layoffs.
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Tami Morgan
•Good point to clarify. Regular UI is 26 weeks maximum. Standby status allows you to remain attached to your employer during temporary layoffs, but you still use up your benefit weeks while claiming.
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Ruby Knight
The whole system is confusing! I wish NYS Department of Labor would just give us a simple chart showing how many days/weeks we get instead of making us dig through all their documentation.
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
•I totally agree! The NYS DOL website is so hard to navigate. I'm dealing with this right now too and it took me forever to find the basic info that it's 26 weeks max. They really should have a simple FAQ section right on the front page that breaks it down clearly instead of burying it in all the legal language.
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