What happens if I stop claiming unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor?
I've been collecting unemployment for about 8 weeks now and just got offered a part-time job that might turn into full-time. I'm thinking about just stopping my weekly claims instead of dealing with reporting the income, but I'm not sure what happens if I do that. Will NYS Department of Labor automatically close my claim? Can I restart it later if the job doesn't work out? I don't want to mess anything up with my benefits.
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Raj Gupta
If you stop filing your weekly claims, NYS Department of Labor will eventually close your claim due to inactivity. Usually takes about 4 weeks of not filing before they mark it as abandoned. You can reopen it within the benefit year if you become unemployed again, but you'll need to contact them to reactivate it.
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Ava Williams
•Do I need to tell them I'm stopping or can I just not file the weekly claim?
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Lena Müller
Actually, you should report the part-time work on your weekly claims rather than stopping altogether. NYS Department of Labor allows you to work part-time and still collect partial benefits as long as you report the income correctly. You might still get some unemployment money depending on how much you earn.
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Ava Williams
•I thought if I worked at all I couldn't get unemployment anymore. How does the partial benefit thing work?
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Lena Müller
•They have a formula where they subtract a portion of your earnings from your weekly benefit amount. As long as you earn less than your weekly benefit rate plus $50, you'll get something. It's worth reporting rather than losing benefits completely.
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TechNinja
i stopped claiming for like 2 months when i thought i had a job lined up and it was a nightmare trying to get back on. had to call nys department of labor like 50 times
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Keisha Thompson
•Same thing happened to me. I couldn't get through on the phone for weeks. Finally used this service called claimyr.com that helped me get connected to an actual NYS Department of Labor agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much time and frustration.
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TechNinja
•wish i knew about that when i was dealing with this mess
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Paolo Bianchi
Wait I'm confused about this whole partial benefits thing. If I work 20 hours a week at $15/hour, how much would that affect my unemployment? My weekly benefit is $320.
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Lena Müller
•With 20 hours at $15/hour you'd earn $300. NYS Department of Labor subtracts 25% of your gross earnings over $50 from your benefit. So $300 - $50 = $250, then 25% of $250 = $62.50 reduction. You'd get $320 - $62.50 = $257.50 in partial unemployment.
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Paolo Bianchi
•That's actually not bad! I had no idea you could still get benefits while working part-time.
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Yara Assad
The whole system is so confusing!! Why don't they explain this stuff better when you first apply? I've been terrified to take any work because I thought I'd lose everything.
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Olivia Clark
•right?? the nys department of labor website is terrible at explaining the rules
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Zane Hernandez
Just want to add my experience - I was in a similar situation and decided to keep filing while working part-time. Best decision I made! The partial benefits really helped bridge the gap until my hours increased. The key is being completely honest about your earnings on the weekly certification. NYS Department of Labor has gotten pretty good at cross-checking with employers, so don't try to hide income. Also, if your part-time job does become full-time and you're earning over your benefit amount, your claim will just go dormant and you can reactivate it later if needed without losing your remaining benefit weeks.
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Kelsey Chin
•This is really helpful advice! I'm new to unemployment benefits and had the same misconception as the original poster. So just to clarify - if I report my part-time earnings honestly and later my hours get cut back, I can just continue filing weekly claims without having to restart the whole application process? And my benefit year clock keeps running the whole time?
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