What is unemployment mean - confused about NYS Department of Labor benefits

Unemployment benefits (UI) are temporary financial assistance from the NYS Department of Labor when you lose your job through no fault of your own. You file a claim and if approved, you receive weekly payments while you search for new work. You'll need to meet job search requirements and file weekly claims to continue receiving benefits.

To qualify for NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits, you need enough work history and wages in your base period. Since you worked at a restaurant, as long as your employer paid into the system, you should be eligible. Go to labor.ny.gov to file your initial claim online - it's much faster than calling.

I was in the same situation last year and had such a hard time getting through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor! The phones were constantly busy and I couldn't get my questions answered. I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have this video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me a lot of frustration when I needed to check my claim status.

unemployment basically means temporary money when you get fired or laid off. you have to look for jobs and prove it every week or they stop paying you. its not a lot of money but better than nothing i guess

Just to clarify - you get unemployment benefits when you're unemployed through no fault of your own. Being fired for misconduct usually disqualifies you. The NYS Department of Labor will review your case during something called adjudication to determine if you qualify. Make sure you have all your employment information ready when you apply.