What prevents you from getting unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor?
I keep hearing different things about what can disqualify you from unemployment benefits and I'm getting confused. I was laid off from my restaurant job last month but I'm worried there might be something that prevents me from getting approved. I had a couple write-ups for being late earlier this year but nothing major. Are there specific things that automatically disqualify you? I don't want to waste time filing if I'm not going to be eligible anyway. Has anyone been denied and can share what went wrong?
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Nathaniel Stewart
The main reasons NYS Department of Labor denies unemployment claims are: being fired for misconduct, quitting without good cause, not being able and available for work, refusing suitable job offers, or not meeting wage/work requirements. Write-ups for tardiness usually aren't considered serious misconduct unless it was excessive and you were specifically warned about termination. Since you were laid off, that's typically not a disqualifying reason.
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Lola Perez
•That's reassuring! So being laid off should be fine then? I was definitely able to work, they just said they had to cut staff because business was slow.
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Riya Sharma
You should definitely file. The worst they can do is say no, but layoffs are usually approved. Just make sure you report any severance pay correctly and start doing your job search activities right away. You need to log 3 work search activities per week.
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Santiago Diaz
•Wait, is it 3 activities or 3 contacts? I thought you had to actually apply to 3 jobs?
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Riya Sharma
•It's 3 work search activities, which can include job applications, attending job fairs, networking events, or interviews. Check the NYS Department of Labor website for the full list of acceptable activities.
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Millie Long
I got denied initially because I quit my job to take care of my sick mom, but I was able to appeal and eventually got approved for good cause. The process took forever though - like 2 months of back and forth with adjudication.
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Lola Perez
•How did you prove the good cause? Did you need medical documentation?
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Millie Long
•Yeah I had to get letters from her doctors and show that I had no other family members who could help. It was a lot of paperwork but worth it in the end.
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KaiEsmeralda
The system is so frustrating when you're trying to get through to someone at NYS Department of Labor to ask these questions. I spent weeks calling and either got busy signals or got hung up on after waiting on hold for hours. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get connected to an actual agent who could explain my disqualification. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me so much time and stress.
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Debra Bai
•How much does that cost though? I'm already broke from being unemployed.
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KaiEsmeralda
•It was worth every penny to actually talk to someone who could give me real answers instead of guessing from the website. Much cheaper than staying in limbo for months.
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Gabriel Freeman
honestly the whole system is designed to deny as many people as possible... they'll find ANY excuse to say no and then make you jump through hoops to prove you deserve it
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Nathaniel Stewart
•While the process can be frustrating, there are legitimate reasons for the requirements. They need to verify eligibility to prevent fraud and ensure benefits go to those who qualify under the law.
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Laura Lopez
same boat here, got laid off and worried about random stuff preventing approval
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