NYS Department of Labor unemployment eligibility - who is unemployment for exactly?
I'm really confused about who actually qualifies for unemployment benefits in New York. My neighbor got fired from her retail job and got approved right away, but my cousin who quit his construction job to take care of his sick mom got denied. Then I hear about people getting benefits while on reduced hours? I thought unemployment was just for people who got laid off. Can someone explain who is unemployment for and what the actual rules are? I might need to file soon and don't want to waste my time if I'm not eligible.
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KhalilStar
Unemployment benefits are for people who are unemployed through no fault of their own AND are able and available to work. Your neighbor qualified because she was fired (involuntary separation). Your cousin was denied because he voluntarily quit - that usually disqualifies you unless you had 'good cause' like domestic violence or unsafe working conditions. People on reduced hours can get partial benefits if their hours were cut involuntarily. The key is the separation has to be involuntary and you have to be actively seeking work.
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Connor Murphy
•So taking care of a sick family member wouldn't count as good cause for quitting? That seems really harsh.
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Amelia Dietrich
There are actually several categories of people who can get unemployment in NY: 1) People laid off or fired without misconduct, 2) People whose hours were reduced involuntarily, 3) People who quit for specific 'good cause' reasons (the list is pretty limited), 4) People on approved standby status from union jobs. You also need sufficient work history and wages in your 'base period' - usually the first 4 quarters of the last 5 completed quarters before you file.
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Kaiya Rivera
•What counts as misconduct? I was fired for being late too many times but my boss never gave me any written warnings.
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Katherine Ziminski
ugh the whole system is so confusing!! I've been trying to figure out if I qualify for weeks. I was working part-time at two different jobs and one of them let me go because business was slow. The other job is only giving me like 10 hours a week now. Do I qualify for anything or am I stuck?
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KhalilStar
•You might qualify for partial benefits! If your total hours were reduced involuntarily, you can file a claim. NYS Department of Labor will calculate if your reduced earnings make you eligible for partial unemployment benefits. Definitely worth applying.
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Noah Irving
I had such a nightmare trying to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor to ask about my eligibility. Spent literally hours on hold just to get hung up on. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real person in like 15 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration when I needed to verify my eligibility status.
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Vanessa Chang
•Never heard of that but honestly anything is better than sitting on hold for hours just to get disconnected
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Madison King
basically if you didn't quit and you're looking for work you probably qualify. the wage requirement isn't that high - think you need like $2600 in your highest quarter or something. don't quote me on the exact number though
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KhalilStar
•Close! For 2025, you need at least $3,300 in wages in your highest earning quarter AND total wages of at least 1.5 times your highest quarter wages. So if you made $3,300 in your best quarter, you'd need at least $4,950 total in your base period.
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