NYS Department of Labor minimum earnings requirement - how much do you have to make to file for unemployment?
I got laid off from my part-time retail job last month and I'm not sure if I even qualify for unemployment benefits. I was only making about $15,000 last year and worked maybe 25 hours a week. Does NYS Department of Labor have a minimum amount you need to earn before you can file a claim? I've been putting off applying because I'm worried they'll just reject me for not making enough money. Can someone explain what the earnings requirements are?
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Paolo Rizzo
You need to have earned at least $2,700 in your base period to qualify for unemployment benefits in New York. The base period is usually the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. As long as you hit that minimum and worked in at least two quarters, you should be eligible to file.
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Keisha Williams
•Thank you! I think I made around $3,200 in my base period so I should qualify. Do I need to have all my pay stubs ready when I apply?
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Amina Sy
wait i thought it was higher than that, like $3000 or something? i applied last year and they made me wait forever
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Paolo Rizzo
•No, it's definitely $2,700. They might have delayed your claim for other reasons like adjudication or missing documentation, but the base period earnings requirement is $2,700 minimum.
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Oliver Fischer
The $2,700 is correct but there's also the high quarter requirement - you need to have earned at least $2,700 in your highest earning quarter AND have total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your high quarter earnings. So if your highest quarter was $2,700, you'd need at least $4,050 total in your base period. Most people don't realize there are actually two wage tests you have to pass.
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Keisha Williams
•This is getting confusing. How do I figure out what my base period quarters were? Is there a calculator on the NYS Department of Labor website?
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Natasha Ivanova
•I had trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone to get my wage information verified. Kept getting disconnected after waiting on hold for over an hour. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual agent in like 10 minutes. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI. Saved me so much frustration trying to get my earnings breakdown sorted out.
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NebulaNomad
I was in a similar situation - part time work, worried about not qualifying. Turns out I barely made the cut with $2,850 in my base period. The hardest part was actually getting through to verify everything. NYS Department of Labor phone system is a nightmare. But once I got my claim approved, I was getting $183 a week which really helped while job searching.
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Javier Garcia
•that's not bad for part time work honestly
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Emma Taylor
Just apply anyway! The worst they can do is say no, and you might be surprised. I thought I didn't have enough earnings from my seasonal job but apparently working at different places in different quarters still counts toward your total. Don't overthink it.
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Zoey Bianchi
@Keisha Williams - You can find your base period quarters by looking at when you file your claim. If you file today, your base period would be January 2024 through December 2024. The NYS DOL website has a tool under "Unemployment Insurance" > "File a Claim" that shows your exact base period dates. You can also log into your online account once you start the application process to see your wage history. Don't worry about having every single pay stub - they usually have your wage information from employers already, but it's good to have some records just in case there are discrepancies.
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