If you are fired can you collect unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor?

Yes, you can definitely apply for unemployment even if you were fired. The key thing NYS Department of Labor looks at is whether you were fired for misconduct or not. If it was for attendance issues, that might be considered misconduct depending on the circumstances. You should still file your claim though - the worst they can say is no, and you might be surprised. When you file, be honest about why you were terminated but also explain your side of the story.

I got fired from my last job for being late too many times and still got approved for UI benefits. The NYS Department of Labor sent me a form to fill out explaining my side and I guess they decided it wasn't serious enough misconduct to disqualify me. Definitely worth applying.

The NYS Department of Labor will investigate any termination when you file your claim. Your employer will receive a notice and can dispute your claim if they want to. If they do dispute it, you'll go through an adjudication process where both sides present their case. Even if you were fired, you can still qualify as long as it wasn't for willful misconduct. Things like poor performance, attendance issues that weren't willful, or personality conflicts usually don't disqualify you from benefits.

I had a nightmare trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor when my employer disputed my claim after I was fired. Spent weeks calling and either getting busy signals or being hung up on after waiting forever. Finally found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that actually got me connected to a real person at NYS Department of Labor. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Was able to get my adjudication resolved way faster than if I'd kept trying to call myself.

honestly the whole system is ridiculous, they make you jump through so many hoops even when you legitimately need help. File your claim anyway and see what happens, even if you were fired for a stupid reason they might still approve you. The worst case is you waste some time filling out forms.

File ASAP! Don't wait around thinking about whether you qualify or not. I waited two weeks after getting fired before applying and ended up losing out on those benefits because your claim date starts when you file, not when you lost your job.