What is a recall date for unemployment benefits - confused about NYS Department of Labor requirements

A recall date is when your employer expects to bring you back to work. If your employer didn't give you a specific date when you'll return, you can leave it blank or put 'unknown.' This is common for permanent layoffs. The NYS Department of Labor needs this info to determine if you're on temporary layoff (standby) or permanently separated. If you have a recall date within 30 days, you might be classified differently for job search requirements.

yeah i had the same confusion when i first filed. if your not going back to the same job just put unknown or leave blank, its not a big deal

Be careful with this because it affects your standby status. If you have a recall date within 30 days, you might not have to do job searches but you also can't work for anyone else temporarily. If you don't have a recall date, you're considered permanently separated and need to complete job search activities. I had issues with NYS Department of Labor because I misunderstood this initially and had to call to get it straightened out. Getting through to someone was impossible until I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) - they have a service that calls for you and gets you connected to an actual agent. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.

This whole system is so confusing! Why can't they just ask simple questions instead of making us guess what they want. I've been filing for weeks and still don't understand half these questions.

Just went through this same thing last month. Left mine blank since my company closed permanently. No issues with my claims. As long as you're honest about your situation you should be fine.

I had a similar situation when I was laid off from my retail job last year. The recall date field confused me too at first. What helped me understand it was thinking of it this way - if your employer gave you a paper or told you verbally "we expect to call you back on [specific date]" then that's your recall date. But if they just said "we're laying you off" or "this is permanent" or even "we might call you back someday but don't know when," then you don't have a recall date. In your case, since your employer laid you off in December without giving you a specific return date, you're safe to leave it blank. The NYS Department of Labor uses this to determine your status and requirements, so it's better to be accurate than to guess.

I went through this exact same confusion when I first started filing! The recall date question tripped me up too. From my experience, if your employer didn't give you a specific date when they laid you off, then you simply don't have one to report. I was laid off from my manufacturing job last fall and my supervisor just said "we're downsizing permanently" - no mention of any return date. I left that field blank on all my weekly certifications and never had any issues with my benefits. The key thing to remember is that NYS Department of Labor just wants accurate information about your situation. Don't stress about leaving it blank if that's the reality of your layoff. Better to be honest than to make up a date that doesn't exist.

I work as a benefits counselor and see this question come up a lot. You're absolutely right to be cautious about accuracy! The recall date field is only for situations where your employer specifically told you when they plan to bring you back - like "we're laying you off for the winter but expect to recall everyone on April 15th." Since your employer described this as a layoff without giving you any specific return date, leaving it blank is the correct choice. This tells NYS Department of Labor that you're permanently separated rather than on temporary standby, which means you'll need to meet the job search requirements but you're free to accept other employment. Don't worry about leaving it blank - that's exactly what the system expects in your situation.