NYS Department of Labor denied my claim - can I reapply for unemployment benefits again?

You generally can't just reapply for the same benefit year if you were denied - you need to appeal the decision first. The appeal deadline is usually 30 days from when you received the determination letter. For your situation with reduced hours, that might actually qualify as constructive dismissal which could make you eligible.

same thing happened to me, they denied me for quitting but I appealed and won because I had good cause. you definitely should have appealed instead of trying to reapply

You might still be able to file a late appeal if you have good cause for missing the deadline. NYS Department of Labor sometimes accepts late appeals if you can show you didn't receive the notice or had other extenuating circumstances. You'll need to explain why you missed the deadline and provide documentation about your work situation. If your hours were significantly reduced, that's often considered involuntary separation.

Had trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor about my appeal last year and found this service called Claimyr that gets you through to an actual agent. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling and getting hung up on. Might be worth it to talk to someone about your late appeal options.

honestly the whole system is rigged against workers, they deny people for any reason they can think of and make the appeal process as confusing as possible

ugh this is exactly what I'm worried about happening to me, I had to quit my job too because they kept cutting my schedule

I went through something similar and was able to file a late appeal after missing the initial deadline. You'll want to gather evidence showing your hours were substantially reduced - pay stubs from before and after the cuts, any emails or texts about schedule changes, even coworker testimony if possible. The key is proving it was essentially constructive dismissal rather than voluntary quit. I'd recommend calling the appeals office directly to ask about late filing procedures - they sometimes have more flexibility than the initial claims process. Don't give up, reduced hours cases often have better success rates on appeal.

I'm in a similar boat - just had my claim denied for "voluntary quit" even though my employer basically forced me out by cutting my hours to almost nothing. Reading through these responses is really encouraging, especially hearing that people have successfully filed late appeals. I'm about 5 weeks past my denial notice too, so knowing there might still be options gives me hope. The constructive dismissal angle makes a lot of sense for situations like ours where we didn't really have a choice but to leave. Going to start gathering all my documentation and try calling the appeals office directly like others suggested here.

I went through almost the exact same situation a few months ago - got denied for "voluntary quit" even though my employer cut my hours from full-time to just 12 hours a week. Like others have mentioned, you can absolutely file a late appeal even past the 30-day deadline. I was about 7 weeks late with mine and they still accepted it because I could show I genuinely didn't understand the process initially. The key is proving constructive dismissal - when your hours get cut so drastically that you can't survive financially, that's essentially being forced out. Gather all your pay stubs, any texts or emails about the schedule changes, and write a clear timeline of what happened. I ended up winning my appeal and getting all my back benefits. Don't give up - these hour reduction cases have really good success rates once you get in front of an appeals judge who actually understands employment law.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! My hours got slashed from 32 to about 10 per week and I quit because I couldn't make ends meet. NYS DOL initially denied my claim for "voluntary quit" but after reading everyone's experiences here, I'm realizing I should have appealed instead of just accepting the decision. I'm probably past the 30-day deadline too, but seeing that multiple people here successfully filed late appeals is giving me hope. Going to start gathering my pay stubs and any documentation about the hour cuts. Has anyone had luck with the online appeal process or is calling directly better for these late appeals?

I'm going through the exact same thing right now - got denied for "voluntary quit" after my employer cut my hours from 40 to maybe 15 per week. Reading through all these responses is giving me so much hope! I had no idea that late appeals were even possible, and hearing that so many people have successfully argued constructive dismissal for hour reductions is really encouraging. I'm definitely past the 30-day deadline (probably around 6-7 weeks now) but it sounds like that's not necessarily the end of the road. Going to start collecting all my pay stubs and any communication about the schedule changes, then try calling the appeals office directly like everyone's suggesting. It's so frustrating that they automatically classify these situations as voluntary when we literally had no choice but to leave - 15 hours a week isn't even enough to cover rent, let alone everything else. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here, you've given me the courage to fight this decision!

I'm facing a very similar situation and this entire thread has been a lifesaver! My employer reduced my hours from 38 to just 12 per week, and like many of you, I got the dreaded "voluntary quit" denial. I had no idea about the constructive dismissal angle or that late appeals were even possible - I just assumed I was out of luck when I missed the 30-day deadline. Reading about everyone's success stories here is giving me the motivation to fight this. I've already started gathering my pay stubs and I found some text messages from my supervisor about the "temporary" schedule cuts that turned permanent. It's really encouraging to see that the appeals judges seem to actually understand these situations better than whoever reviews the initial claims. Going to call the appeals office first thing Monday morning. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - you've literally given me hope when I thought I had none left!

This thread has been incredibly helpful - I'm in almost the exact same situation! My hours got cut from full-time to about 14 hours per week and I got denied for "voluntary quit" too. I had no idea that constructive dismissal was even a thing or that late appeals were possible. Reading everyone's success stories here is giving me the courage to fight this decision. I'm probably about 5-6 weeks past my denial notice, but it sounds like that might not be the end of the road. Going to start gathering all my pay stubs and documentation about the hour cuts, then call the appeals office directly like so many people here have recommended. It's really frustrating how they automatically label these situations as "voluntary" when we literally couldn't survive on the reduced hours. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences - you've given me hope when I thought I was completely out of options!

Reading through all these experiences has been so eye-opening! I'm currently dealing with a very similar situation - my employer cut my hours from 35 to just 8 hours per week and I got the "voluntary quit" denial too. I had no clue that late appeals were even an option or what constructive dismissal meant until I found this thread. It's really encouraging to see so many people successfully overturn these denials, especially with hour reduction cases. I'm definitely past the 30-day deadline (about 7 weeks now) but seeing that others have been successful even later than that gives me real hope. I've got pay stubs showing the dramatic drop and some emails from my manager about the "temporary" schedule changes that never got reversed. Going to call the appeals office this week and try to file a late appeal. Thank you everyone for sharing your stories - you've given me the confidence to fight this when I thought I was completely out of luck!