NYS Department of Labor - why are some types of unemployment unavoidable and others disqualify you?
I'm trying to understand the difference between when you can collect unemployment and when you can't. My cousin got laid off from his construction job last month and qualified right away, but my friend got fired for attendance issues and was denied. I thought unemployment was for anyone who lost their job? Can someone explain why some unemployment situations automatically qualify you while others make you ineligible? I want to make sure I understand this before I ever need to file a claim with NYS Department of Labor.
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Gemma Andrews
The key difference is between voluntary vs involuntary job loss, and whether you're at fault. NYS Department of Labor looks at the circumstances of your separation. Layoffs, plant closures, position eliminations - these are 'involuntary' and through no fault of your own, so you qualify. But if you quit without good cause, or get fired for misconduct (like chronic tardiness, theft, insubordination), that can disqualify you from benefits.
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Lena Schultz
•That makes sense about layoffs vs getting fired. But what counts as 'good cause' for quitting? Like if your boss is making your life miserable but not technically doing anything illegal?
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Pedro Sawyer
There's also economic factors beyond individual control. Like if your industry gets hit by recession, trade wars, technology changes that eliminate whole job categories - those are considered unavoidable. NYS Department of Labor recognizes that sometimes unemployment happens due to broader economic forces, not because someone did something wrong. That's the whole point of the unemployment insurance system.
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Mae Bennett
•Yeah exactly. I work in retail and when our store closed due to the company going bankrupt, that wasn't my fault at all. Got approved immediately.
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Beatrice Marshall
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor to get clarification on your specific situation, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Really helpful when you need to speak to someone about eligibility questions instead of just reading the website.
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Lena Schultz
•Thanks for the suggestion! I'm not filing right now but good to know there are ways to actually talk to someone if needed.
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Melina Haruko
The system is SO confusing though! Like what if you get fired but your boss was being totally unreasonable? Or if you quit because they cut your hours so much you couldn't pay rent? There's got to be some grey areas where it's not totally black and white right??
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Gemma Andrews
•You're right that there are grey areas. Constructive discharge (being forced to quit due to intolerable conditions) and substantial reduction in hours can sometimes qualify you. Each case gets reviewed individually during the adjudication process.
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Dallas Villalobos
basically if its not your fault you can get it, if it is your fault you cant. pretty simple
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Reina Salazar
This reminds me of when I got let go from my office job three years ago. They said it was 'restructuring' but I always wondered if it was really performance related. Either way, I qualified for benefits and it helped me get through until I found something new. The uncertainty was the worst part though.
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