Just got denied - who is not eligible for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor?
Got my determination letter today and I'm completely confused about why I was denied. I worked for 8 months at a restaurant before getting laid off due to slow business. The letter mentions something about not meeting eligibility requirements but doesn't really explain what that means. Can someone break down who actually qualifies and who doesn't? I thought if you lost your job through no fault of your own you automatically get benefits. What am I missing here?
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Ryder Greene
There are several categories of people who aren't eligible for NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits. The main ones are: people who quit without good cause, were fired for misconduct, are self-employed without coverage, haven't earned enough in wages during the base period, aren't able and available to work, or aren't actively seeking work. Since you were laid off, the issue might be your wage history or work authorization status. Did you work the full 8 months continuously?
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Leeann Blackstein
•Yes I worked continuously from March through October. I made about $420 per week. Could it be that I didn't work long enough? The base period thing is confusing me.
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Carmella Fromis
The base period is key here. NYS Department of Labor looks at the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed. So if you filed in November 2024, they'd look at Q3 2023 through Q2 2024. If most of your work was recent, you might not have enough wages in that base period. You can request an alternate base period that uses more recent quarters.
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Theodore Nelson
•This happened to me too! I had to file an alternate base period request and it took like 3 extra weeks but I eventually got approved.
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AaliyahAli
Also ineligible: students attending school full-time, people receiving certain pensions, anyone not authorized to work in the US, independent contractors (unless they opted into coverage), and people who refuse suitable work offers. The restaurant industry has some specific rules too about seasonal workers.
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Ellie Simpson
Wait so if you're a student you can't get unemployment at all?? That seems really unfair. What if you're just taking one class while working full time?
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Ryder Greene
•It depends on your class schedule and availability for work. If you can prove you're able and available for full-time work despite being enrolled, you might still qualify. But if your classes interfere with accepting suitable job offers, that's a problem.
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Arjun Kurti
I've been trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my eligibility determination and can never get through. The phone system is absolutely terrible. Has anyone found a way to actually talk to a real person there?
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AaliyahAli
•I had the same problem until someone told me about Claimyr. It's a service that helps you get through to NYS Department of Labor agents by handling the phone call process. Check out their site at claimyr.com - they even have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows exactly how it works. Finally got my issues resolved after using them.
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Raúl Mora
dont forget about people who get fired for stealing or fighting or showing up drunk. thats misconduct and disqualifies you completely. also if you quit to move somewhere else without having a job lined up first
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Leeann Blackstein
Thanks everyone. Sounds like my issue is probably the base period since I only started working in March. Going to try filing for the alternate base period and see what happens. Wish they made this stuff clearer from the start!
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Carmella Fromis
•Good luck! Make sure you have all your pay stubs ready when you request the alternate base period. It really does help to have documentation ready.
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