NYS Department of Labor - how many hours can I work and still claim unemployment benefits?
I just got approved for unemployment benefits after being laid off from my full-time marketing job last month. A friend mentioned I might be able to do some part-time freelance work while collecting, but I'm confused about the hour limits. How many hours am I allowed to work per week without losing my NYS Department of Labor benefits? I don't want to mess up my claim by working too much accidentally. Also do I need to report every single hour I work when I file my weekly claim?
14 comments
Join the conversation
Liam Fitzgerald
You can work part-time and still collect unemployment in NY, but there are specific rules. Generally, if you work less than 4 days per week OR earn less than your weekly benefit rate, you can still receive partial benefits. The key is reporting ALL work and earnings when you file your weekly claim - even just 1 hour needs to be reported. NYS Department of Labor calculates your partial benefit based on what you earn.
0 coins
Mei Wong
•Thanks! So it's more about days worked than total hours? That's confusing because freelance work doesn't really have set days.
0 coins
PixelWarrior
The 4-day rule is one part but there's also an earnings limit. If you earn more than your weekly benefit amount, you get $0 for that week. If you earn less, they reduce your benefit by 25% of what you earned. So if your weekly benefit is $400 and you earn $100, you'd get $375 ($400 minus 25% of $100). Always report everything honestly on your weekly certification.
0 coins
Amara Adebayo
•Wait I thought it was dollar for dollar reduction? This 25% thing is news to me
0 coins
PixelWarrior
•No, NY changed to the 25% reduction method a few years ago. It's actually more generous than the old system.
0 coins
Giovanni Rossi
I had so much trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about this exact question. Spent weeks calling and either getting busy signals or being disconnected. Finally used claimyr.com which connected me to an actual agent in like 10 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. The agent confirmed the 4-day/earnings rules and helped me understand how to report freelance work properly.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Mansour
•How much did that cost though? I'm already struggling financially
0 coins
Giovanni Rossi
•It was worth it for me to get accurate info directly from NYS Department of Labor instead of guessing and potentially messing up my claim.
0 coins
Dylan Evans
just dont work more than 3 days and youll be fine, been doing uber on weekends and never had issues
0 coins
Liam Fitzgerald
•Be careful with that advice - it's not just about number of days. If you're doing Uber you need to report all earnings and hours, even weekend work.
0 coins
Sofia Gomez
The whole system is so confusing! I'm terrified of making a mistake and having to pay back benefits. Why can't they just give clear guidelines on their website?
0 coins
Carmen Lopez
•I totally get the anxiety about making mistakes! The NYS DOL website could definitely be clearer. What helped me was printing out the partial benefit worksheet from their site and keeping detailed records of every hour worked and dollar earned. Also, when in doubt, it's better to over-report than under-report - they'd rather you be too transparent than miss something.
0 coins
Serene Snow
For freelance work specifically, @Mei Wong, you'll want to track your hours carefully since freelance doesn't fit neatly into the "4 days" rule. What matters most is your total weekly earnings compared to your benefit amount. I've been doing freelance graphic design while on unemployment and I report every project - even if it's just 2 hours on a Tuesday. The NYS DOL counts any day you do ANY work as a "work day" regardless of hours, so if you freelance across 5 different days in a week (even just 1 hour each day), that could affect your benefits more than doing 20 hours all in one day. Keep detailed records with dates, hours, and earnings for each project.
0 coins
Zara Rashid
•@Serene Snow This is really helpful info about freelance work! I had no idea that working 1 hour across 5 different days could be worse than 20 hours in one day. That seems backwards but I guess it makes sense with their work "day rule." So if I have a freelance project that I could spread out over the week, I should try to batch it all into fewer days? Also, what kind of records do you keep - just a simple spreadsheet or something more formal?
0 coins