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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