What are the two types of unemployment benefits in NYS Department of Labor system?
I'm really confused about unemployment benefits in New York. My coworker mentioned there are two different types of unemployment you can get through NYS Department of Labor but I have no idea what she meant. I lost my job last month and when I went to file my claim on the my.ny.gov website, it just asked basic questions about my work history and earnings. Are there actually different categories of unemployment benefits? I don't want to mess up my application by choosing the wrong thing. Can someone explain what the two types are and how I know which one applies to me?
9 comments
Join the conversation
Amelia Dietrich
Yes, there are two main types of unemployment insurance in New York. The first is regular unemployment insurance (UI) which is what most people get when they lose their job through no fault of their own. The second is standby status, which is for people who are temporarily laid off but expect to return to the same employer within a specific timeframe. With standby, you don't have to do the weekly job search requirements since you're expected to go back to your original job.
0 coins
KhalilStar
•Oh that makes sense! My layoff is permanent so I guess I need regular UI. Do I have to do anything special to indicate that when filing?
0 coins
Kaiya Rivera
there's also partial unemployment if you're working reduced hours but that might be a subcategory of regular UI. i was on standby for 6 weeks last year when my factory shut down for retooling and it was way easier than regular unemployment because no job search logs
0 coins
Katherine Ziminski
•Partial unemployment is handled through the regular UI system, you're right. You just report your reduced earnings on your weekly claims and NYS Department of Labor calculates a partial benefit amount.
0 coins
Noah Irving
I'm dealing with the opposite problem - I think I was supposed to be on standby status but somehow got put on regular UI and now they're making me do job searches even though my employer said I'll be called back in March. Has anyone had success getting NYS Department of Labor to switch your claim type after it's already been filed?
0 coins
Amelia Dietrich
•You can request a status change but you'll need documentation from your employer confirming the expected return date. Call the NYS Department of Labor phone line, though getting through can be really difficult with their high call volume.
0 coins
Vanessa Chang
•I had this exact same issue last year! Couldn't get through to NYS Department of Labor for weeks. Someone on here recommended claimyr.com - it's a service that helps you get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. I was able to get my claim status fixed within a few days of using their service.
0 coins
Madison King
wait so if im on standby i dont have to look for jobs?? ive been doing the work search thing for 3 weeks thinking i had to
0 coins
Katherine Ziminski
•If you're truly on standby status with a confirmed return date from your employer, then no job search is required. But if you were filing regular UI claims, then yes you do need to search for work and keep logs.
0 coins