NYS Department of Labor - what makes you ineligible for unemployment benefits?
I'm trying to understand all the ways you can be disqualified from getting unemployment in New York. My cousin just got denied and we're trying to figure out if she should appeal or if there's no point. She was working part-time at a retail store and got let go, but now NYS Department of Labor is saying she's not eligible. What are the main reasons they deny people? I want to make sure I understand this stuff in case it ever happens to me.
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Andre Rousseau
There are several main categories that make you ineligible for unemployment benefits in NY. The biggest ones are: 1) You quit without good cause, 2) You were fired for misconduct, 3) You haven't earned enough wages in your base period, 4) You're not able and available to work, 5) You refuse suitable work without good cause, 6) You're not actively searching for work. For your cousin, if she was part-time, it might be the wage requirement - you need to have earned at least $2,600 in your base period and meet other wage tests.
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Carmen Vega
•She was only working like 15 hours a week for about 8 months, so that might be it. How much do you need to earn exactly?
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Zoe Stavros
The wage requirements are pretty specific. You need at least $2,600 in your base period AND either: $1,300 in your high quarter OR wages in at least two quarters of your base period. If she was only part-time for 8 months, she might not have met these thresholds. She should check her monetary determination letter - it'll show exactly what wages NYS Department of Labor has on record for her.
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Jamal Harris
•This is exactly what happened to me! I thought part-time work would qualify me but I didn't earn enough. The letter broke down all my quarterly wages and it was pretty clear why I didn't qualify.
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GalaxyGlider
wait so if you get fired for being late too much that counts as misconduct?? i thought misconduct was like stealing or something serious
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Andre Rousseau
•Yes, excessive tardiness can definitely be considered misconduct if it was willful or repeated after warnings. Misconduct doesn't have to be criminal - it includes violating reasonable employer policies after being warned.
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Mei Wong
I had a nightmare trying to reach NYS Department of Labor when my claim got denied. Spent weeks calling and never got through. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real person at the unemployment office. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Turns out there was just missing documentation I needed to submit for my appeal.
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Liam Sullivan
•How much does that cost though? I'm already broke from being unemployed lol
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Mei Wong
•It was worth it for me because I was able to get my benefits approved and backpay. Way cheaper than losing all that money from the denial.
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Amara Okafor
Other things that can disqualify you: being self-employed, not being a US citizen or authorized to work, being in school full-time without approval, being incarcerated, or receiving certain types of pension payments. Also if you're not physically able to work due to illness or disability, you'd need to apply for disability benefits instead.
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Carmen Vega
•She's definitely able to work and is a citizen, so those aren't issues. It's probably the wage thing based on what everyone is saying.
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Jessica Nolan
If your cousin wants to appeal, she should do it even if it seems like a wage issue. Sometimes there are errors in how NYS Department of Labor calculated the wages or they might be missing some employment records. The appeal process is free and she has nothing to lose. Make sure she appeals within 30 days of the denial letter - that deadline is strict. During the appeal, she can also submit any missing wage documentation like pay stubs or W-2s that might help her case.
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Evan Kalinowski
•That's really good advice about appealing anyway! I didn't know they could have missing records or calculation errors. @Jessica Nolan do you know how long the appeal process usually takes? I m'worried my cousin might run out of savings while waiting for a decision.
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