How will federal layoffs affect NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits eligibility?

Yes, federal employees who lose their jobs are eligible for regular unemployment benefits through the NYS Department of Labor, just like any other worker. You'd file your weekly claims the same way and follow the same job search requirements. The only difference is that your federal wages get reported differently in the system, but NYS Department of Labor handles federal employee claims all the time. You should be able to file immediately after your last day of work.

Make sure you get your SF-8 form from HR before you leave - that's the federal equivalent of a regular employer's separation notice. NYS Department of Labor will need that to process your claim properly. Also keep all your pay stubs from the last 18 months because they'll need to verify your wages for benefit calculation. Federal employees sometimes have higher weekly benefit amounts because of higher wages.

omg this is so scary!! I keep hearing about these cuts but nobody knows exactly what's happening. Are they really going to lay off that many people?? I have a friend who works for Social Security and she's freaking out too. What if they cut unemployment benefits at the same time they're laying people off???

I actually went through this during the 2013 government shutdown when I was a federal contractor. Getting through to NYS Department of Labor was a nightmare because so many federal employees were calling at once. If this happens, you might want to try calling early morning or using a service to get through. I found out about claimyr.com from someone on Reddit - they helped me reach an actual NYS Department of Labor agent when I couldn't get through myself. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting hung up on.

been through this before and the system SUCKS when there's mass layoffs. NYS Department of Labor isn't equipped to handle thousands of claims at once. expect delays, expect your claim to sit in adjudication forever, expect to get the runaround. they'll probably blame 'high volume' for everything.

wait so if you work for the federal government you can still get state unemployment? that seems weird to me, shouldn't there be like federal unemployment or something?

I'm actually in a similar situation - work for a federal agency in Syracuse and we've been getting briefings about potential workforce reductions. From what I understand, you'll want to make sure you have your most recent pay statements and any documentation about your job classification. One thing I learned from talking to HR is that federal employees sometimes qualify for higher weekly benefit amounts because our wages are often above the state average. Also, if you do get laid off, file your claim immediately - don't wait. NYS Department of Labor processes federal employee claims regularly, but during mass layoffs there can be a backlog. I've been preparing by gathering all my employment documents just in case.