What makes you qualify for unemployment benefits in NY - confused about eligibility requirements
I just lost my job last week and I'm trying to figure out if I even qualify for unemployment benefits. My supervisor said I was being let go due to 'performance issues' but honestly I think it was really because they're cutting costs. I worked there for about 8 months full-time making $18/hour. Before that I had a part-time job for like 6 months. I'm reading all this stuff on the NYS Department of Labor website about base periods and wage requirements but it's super confusing. What actually makes you qualify for unemployment? Do I need to have worked a certain amount of time or made a certain amount of money? And does it matter why I was fired?
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CosmicVoyager
The basic NYS Department of Labor eligibility requirements are: 1) You must have worked and earned wages in at least 2 quarters of your base period, 2) You must have earned at least $2,800 in your highest quarter, 3) Your total base period wages must be at least 1.5 times your highest quarter wages, and 4) You must be unemployed through no fault of your own. For the reason you were fired - if it was truly performance-related and not misconduct, you should still qualify. Performance issues usually don't disqualify you unless it involves willful misconduct or violations of company policy.
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Isabella Ferreira
•Thank you! That's really helpful. What exactly counts as the 'base period' though? Is that just the last year I worked?
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Ravi Kapoor
Base period is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file your claim. So if you're filing now in January 2025, your base period would be October 2023 through September 2024. The NYS Department of Labor looks at all the wages you earned during that time from all your jobs. With 8 months full-time at $18/hour plus your part-time work before that, you should easily meet the wage requirements.
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Freya Nielsen
•wait so if I worked mostly in 2024 but filed my claim in early 2025, some of my recent work might not count??
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Ravi Kapoor
•That's why there's also an alternate base period option - the last 4 completed quarters. If you don't qualify under the regular base period, NYS Department of Labor will automatically check the alternate base period for you.
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Omar Mahmoud
Don't worry too much about the calculations, the system does it automatically when you file your claim. Just make sure you have all your employment info ready - employer names, addresses, dates worked, and reason for separation. The trickier part is usually proving you're unemployed through no fault of your own if there's any dispute about why you were terminated.
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Isabella Ferreira
•Should I be worried about my employer disputing my claim? They might say it was misconduct instead of performance.
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Chloe Harris
If your employer disputes your claim, it goes into adjudication and can take weeks to resolve. I've been waiting 3 weeks for my adjudication decision and still haven't heard anything. The NYS Department of Labor phone lines are impossible to get through - I've called hundreds of times. Someone recently told me about this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you actually reach NYS Department of Labor agents by phone. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you run into issues getting through to them.
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Diego Vargas
•3 weeks in adjudication is brutal... I hope you hear something soon. The waiting is the worst part.
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NeonNinja
Also remember you have to be able and available for work and actively looking for a job. That means registering on the NY job portal and doing job search activities every week. Don't skip this part - they can audit your job search log at any time and if you haven't been keeping up with the requirements, they can disqualify you even if you qualified initially.
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Isabella Ferreira
•How many job search activities do I need to do per week? The website wasn't super clear about the exact number.
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NeonNinja
•It's 3 job search activities per week minimum. Can be job applications, networking events, career fairs, interviews, etc. Just keep detailed records of everything.
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