NY unemployment during COVID 5-day quarantine with unpaid waiting week - can I claim benefits?

Unfortunately, yes - the waiting week would essentially make you ineligible for regular unemployment benefits for such a short absence. The waiting week is the first week of your claim where you meet all eligibility requirements but don't receive payment. Since your quarantine is only 5 days, by the time your waiting period ends, you'd be back at work. However, check if your employer offers NY Paid Sick Leave - many employers in NY are required to provide this. Also, you might qualify for NY COVID-19 Sick Leave if your employer has more than 100 employees. This is separate from unemployment and specifically designed for COVID situations.

This happened to me in January! The waiting week is such BS when you're only out for a short time. I ended up just taking the loss because by the time I figured out all the paperwork, I was already back at work. The whole system is designed to make it hard to get benefits.

Have you asked your doctor about NYS Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)? It's different from unemployment but might cover you for the 5 days. The waiting period is 7 days, but I think COVID might have special rules. You need to get documentation from your doctor though.

u should check with ur HR if they hve any short term disability or somethin. my company has a thing where if u miss work cuz ur sick they pay like 60% of ur normal pay. not great but better than nothing lol

I work for an organization that helps people navigate benefits, and unfortunately there's a gap in protection for short-term COVID absences in 2025. Here are your options: 1. NYS Paid Family Leave doesn't cover your own illness, only caring for family members 2. NYS Disability has a 7-day waiting period, so you wouldn't qualify 3. Unemployment has the waiting week issue you mentioned Your best bet is to check if your employer falls under the NY State Paid Sick Leave Law, which requires even small employers to provide some sick time (though it may be unpaid for very small employers). If you need to speak directly with someone at the DOL to get a definitive answer about any possible exceptions, try Claimyr (claimyr.com). They can get you connected to an agent without the endless hold times. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE

When I had COVID last month I just took PTO for the 5 days. If you don't have PTO can you maybe work remotely instead of taking unpaid leave? A lot of companies are allowing that now.

This is RIDICULOUS that in 2025 we're still having this issue!!! Three years after the pandemic and workers are STILL forced to choose between going to work sick or losing pay. I bet your boss would be singing a different tune if you showed up coughing all over the workplace!! The waiting week is deliberate to prevent people from getting benefits they deserve!!!!

After reading through this thread, I want to clarify something important: If your employer has between 5-99 employees, they are required to provide up to 5 days of paid sick leave per year under NY State Sick Leave Law. If they have fewer than 5 employees but a net income of more than $1 million, the same rule applies. Even employers with fewer than 5 employees and less than $1 million in net income must provide up to 5 days of unpaid sick leave. If your employer is violating this law, you can file a complaint with the NY Department of Labor. The fact that it's COVID-related doesn't matter anymore for special benefits, but your basic sick leave rights still apply.

glad u figured it out! my friend had to call the labor dept about something similar last year and they actually helped her get her sick pay. good luck!