What happens if I decline unemployment benefits for a week - NYS Department of Labor
I'm getting married next week and going on my honeymoon for 5 days. I know I need to report that I'm not available for work, but I'm confused about what exactly happens when I decline benefits for that week. Do I just skip filing my weekly claim? Or do I file it but answer 'no' to being available? Will this mess up my future claims or create any issues with NYS Department of Labor? I've been collecting for about 6 weeks now and everything has been going smoothly. Just want to make sure I handle this correctly.
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Fidel Carson
You still need to file your weekly claim, but you'll answer 'no' to the availability questions. This will result in $0 payment for that week, but it won't hurt your overall claim. NYS Department of Labor expects this kind of situation - vacations, weddings, medical procedures, etc. The important thing is being honest about your availability.
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Ana Rusula
•Thank you! So I won't lose my remaining benefit weeks or anything like that? I was worried it might reset my claim somehow.
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Isaiah Sanders
yeah i did this when i went to visit family for a week, no problems at all. just make sure you file the claim even though youll get $0
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Xan Dae
Actually, there's an important distinction here. If you're truly unavailable for work (like on a honeymoon), you should answer the availability questions honestly. But if you're just taking a vacation but could still work if a job came up, that's different. NYS Department of Labor requires you to be available for work to receive benefits. For your honeymoon situation, definitely report yourself as unavailable - it's the honest answer.
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Ana Rusula
•That makes sense. Yeah, I definitely won't be available for work calls while I'm on my honeymoon, so I'll answer no to availability.
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Fiona Gallagher
Wait I'm confused about this too. If I decline benefits for one week, does that extend my benefit year by a week? Like if I was supposed to get 26 weeks total, would I now get 26 weeks plus the week I skipped?
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Fidel Carson
•No, your benefit year stays the same. You have a set benefit year (52 weeks from when you first filed) and a maximum benefit amount. If you don't claim for a week, you don't lose that money - it just stays in your account for future weeks within your benefit year.
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Thais Soares
I had a nightmare trying to reach NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about this exact situation last year. Kept getting busy signals and when I finally got through, I was on hold for 3 hours. If anyone needs to actually talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration.
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Fiona Gallagher
•How much does something like that cost though? I'm already barely making ends meet on unemployment.
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Thais Soares
•I think it's worth checking out their site for details. For me it was worth it just to avoid the phone nightmare, but everyone's situation is different.
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Nalani Liu
Congratulations on your wedding! 🎉 I went through something similar when I had surgery last year.
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Freya Andersen
Just wanted to add my experience - I did exactly this when I went on vacation for a week. Filed my weekly claim but answered "no" to being available for work, got $0 for that week, and then everything went back to normal the following week when I was available again. NYS Department of Labor's system handled it smoothly and I didn't have any issues with my subsequent claims. The key is definitely being honest about your availability rather than trying to skip filing altogether. Have an amazing wedding and honeymoon! 💒
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Javier Torres
•This is really helpful to hear from someone who actually went through it! I was worried there might be some hidden complications, but it sounds like the system is pretty straightforward about handling these situations. Thanks for sharing your experience and the congratulations! 😊
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Max Reyes
One more thing to consider - make sure you don't accidentally miss filing your claim during your honeymoon! NYS Department of Labor requires you to file within a specific window each week. You can file online from anywhere as long as you have internet access, so you might want to set a reminder on your phone to file even while you're away. Missing the filing deadline entirely is different from filing but reporting unavailability, and could potentially cause more complications with your claim.
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