What makes you not eligible for unemployment benefits - NYS Department of Labor denied my claim

There are several eligibility requirements for NYS unemployment benefits. You need sufficient work history (usually 1.5 times your highest quarter earnings in your base period), you must be unemployed through no fault of your own, able and available to work, and actively seeking employment. The 'insufficient work history' likely means you didn't earn enough wages during your base period to establish a valid claim.

Your base period is typically the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you filed. So if you filed in January 2025, your base period would be October 2023 through September 2024. If you only worked for 8 months recently, you might not have enough earnings in that specific timeframe. You can request an alternative base period that uses more recent quarters.

other reasons they deny claims - if you quit without good cause, got fired for misconduct, turned down suitable work, or aren't actively looking for jobs. also if you're not a US citizen or don't have work authorization

I had the exact same issue when I got laid off from my retail job! The NYS Department of Labor system is so confusing about the base period calculation. I ended up having to call them multiple times to get it straightened out, but their phone lines are always busy. I actually found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to a real agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. It was worth it to get my claim approved.

THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO DENY PEOPLE!! They make the rules so complicated on purpose. I know people who worked for YEARS and still got denied for ridiculous reasons. Don't give up though - you can appeal their decision.

File an appeal ASAP if you think the denial is wrong. You only have 30 days from the determination date. The appeal process lets you present additional evidence about your work history and earnings.