NYS Department of Labor claim denied - why is too low unemployment bad for my benefits?
I just got a notice that my unemployment claim was denied and I'm totally confused about the reasoning. The letter mentions something about my earnings being 'too low' during my base period but I don't understand why low unemployment would be bad? I worked part-time at a retail job for about 8 months last year making around $280 per week. Shouldn't ANY work history qualify me for benefits? The NYS Department of Labor website is confusing and I can't figure out what I did wrong. Has anyone else been denied for having too low earnings?
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Noah Irving
You're mixing up two different things here. The issue isn't that 'low unemployment is bad' - the problem is that your EARNINGS during the base period were too low to establish a valid claim. NYS Department of Labor requires you to earn at least $2,600 during your base period (the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before filing). At $280/week for 8 months, you probably earned around $8,960 total, but if that work wasn't spread across enough quarters in your base period, you might not meet the requirements.
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Katherine Ziminski
•Oh wow, I never realized there was a base period calculation! So it's not just about how much I made total, but WHEN I made it? This makes more sense now but I'm still confused about the quarters.
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Vanessa Chang
yeah i had this happen to me too last year, worked seasonal job but didnt work enough quarters so got denied even tho i made decent money during the time i worked
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Madison King
•You should definitely appeal this decision if you think there's an error in how they calculated your base period wages. Sometimes employers don't report wages correctly or there are delays in reporting. You have 30 days from the date of the determination to file an appeal with NYS Department of Labor.
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Julian Paolo
The whole system is designed to screw over part-time workers! I've been fighting with NYS Department of Labor for months over similar issues. They expect people to work full-time consistent schedules but then don't account for the reality of gig work and retail scheduling. It's absolutely ridiculous that you can work and pay into the system but then get denied because your earnings pattern doesn't fit their arbitrary boxes!
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Ella Knight
•I feel you on the frustration but there are good reasons for the earnings requirements. The system needs to ensure people have sufficient work history and earnings to justify benefit payments. That said, calling NYS Department of Labor directly can help clarify if there were any reporting errors. I had luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) when I couldn't get through their phone lines - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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William Schwarz
wait are you sure you're looking at the right base period? mine was different than what i expected when i filed my claim last month
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Noah Irving
•Good point! OP should double-check which quarters NYS Department of Labor used as their base period. If you filed recently, your base period would be Q1 2024 through Q4 2024. If your retail work was mostly in late 2024, some of those earnings might not be included in the base period calculation.
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