NYS Department of Labor denied my unemployment claim - what are the main reasons you can't get unemployment benefits?

There are several common reasons NYS Department of Labor denies claims. Most frequent ones: 1) Not earning enough in your base period (need sufficient wages in at least 2 quarters), 2) Quit voluntarily without good cause, 3) Fired for misconduct, 4) Not available for work or actively seeking employment, 5) Refused suitable work without good cause. Since you were laid off, #2 and #3 shouldn't apply. Check your quarterly wage history on your my.ny.gov account to see if you met the monetary requirements.

definitely appeal if you think they made a mistake!! i got denied first time too but won my appeal. the monetary thing trips up alot of people - you need like $2,600 in your highest quarter and total wages of at least 1.5x that amount over the whole base period. also if you had any other jobs or gaps it can affect things

I had issues getting through to NYS Department of Labor to understand my denial too. Ended up using claimyr.com to get connected to an actual agent who could explain exactly why I was denied and what documentation I needed for my appeal. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way easier than trying to call the regular number and getting hung up on constantly.

THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO DENY PEOPLE! They make the rules so confusing and the base period calculation is deliberately complex. I know people who worked full-time for years and still got denied because of some technicality about when they filed vs their base period dates. It's all about saving the state money, not helping unemployed workers.

Same thing happened to me! Was so stressed when I got the denial letter. Turns out I had filed too early - you have to wait until your last day of work plus any severance period ends. Also if you're getting any kind of pension or retirement payments that can disqualify you even if you're young. Really recommend reading through the whole denial letter carefully, sometimes the reason is buried in legal language at the bottom.

I went through the same thing with NYS DOL last year. The most important thing is to request your "Notice of Determination" if you haven't already - it should have more specific details than just "not meeting eligibility requirements." Also check if you filed during the right base period. Since you worked 8 months but some was part-time, you might need to look at wages from 15-18 months ago, not your recent employment. The timing of when you file matters a lot for which quarters they count. Don't give up - many denials are overturned on appeal if you have the right documentation.