Is it better to get fired or quit to collect NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits?

Generally speaking, you need to be terminated through no fault of your own to qualify for UI benefits. If you quit voluntarily, NYS Department of Labor will likely deny your claim unless you can prove you had 'good cause' - which includes things like unsafe working conditions, harassment, or significant changes to your job. Getting fired for poor performance might qualify you, but getting fired for misconduct (like stealing or violating company policy) will disqualify you. Document everything if you're dealing with harassment or unsafe conditions.

DON'T try to get yourself fired on purpose - that can backfire badly. If they fire you for cause or misconduct, you won't get benefits anyway. Your best bet is to document the toxic behavior thoroughly and then quit with good cause. Keep records of everything - emails, texts, witnesses to verbal abuse. NYS Department of Labor will investigate your reason for leaving and if you can prove the workplace was intolerable, you might still qualify.

ugh been there!! my last job was awful and I just walked out one day. Big mistake - got denied for UI and had to appeal. Took forever and was super stressful. wish I had documented things better first

I had a similar situation last year where I couldn't reach anyone at NYS Department of Labor to get clarification on my quit vs termination situation. After weeks of busy signals and getting disconnected, someone told me about this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually get through to speak with unemployment agents. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. I was able to talk to someone within a day and get my questions answered about whether my situation qualified as good cause for quitting.

The whole system is rigged against workers anyway. Companies know exactly how to fire people 'for cause' to avoid paying higher unemployment taxes. Meanwhile we're stuck trying to figure out these impossible rules just to get benefits we already paid into

I went through something similar a few months ago. The key thing I learned is that NYS Department of Labor looks at whether you had a "compelling reason" to quit. Toxic behavior from supervisors can qualify, but you really need solid documentation. I kept a detailed log with dates, times, and what happened each incident. Also saved any written communications that showed the problematic behavior. When I applied, I wrote a clear timeline in my application explaining how I tried to address the issues internally first. It took a while to get approved but they eventually ruled in my favor. The documentation made all the difference - don't just rely on your word against theirs.