When are you entitled to unemployment benefits - NYS Department of Labor eligibility requirements?
I've been working part-time for the past 8 months at a retail store and they just cut my hours from 25 to 8 per week. My manager says it's temporary but I can't survive on 8 hours. I'm wondering when are you entitled to unemployment benefits exactly? Do I qualify since I'm still technically employed? I've never filed for unemployment before and the NYS Department of Labor website is confusing me with all the different requirements. Can someone explain what makes you eligible?
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Madison Tipne
You might qualify for partial unemployment benefits since your hours were significantly reduced. NYS Department of Labor has specific rules about this - you need to have earned enough wages in your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters) and your reduction in hours/wages needs to meet their criteria. You also have to be able and available for work and actively seeking employment.
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Finley Garrett
•What counts as actively seeking employment if I'm still working those 8 hours? Do I need to look for a completely new job or can I just be available for more hours at my current place?
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Holly Lascelles
The basic eligibility requirements are: 1) You worked and earned wages in NY, 2) You lost your job through no fault of your own OR had significant reduction in hours/wages, 3) You're physically able to work, 4) You're available for work, 5) You're actively looking for work. For partial unemployment with reduced hours, you still need to meet the job search requirements which means applying to other positions, not just waiting for your current employer to give you more hours.
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Malia Ponder
•This is exactly what happened to me last year! I was working 30 hours and they dropped me to 12. I qualified for partial benefits but had to do the work search requirements every week.
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Kyle Wallace
ugh the job search thing is so annoying when you already have a job... like why do I need to apply to 3 places a week when my employer might bring back my hours next month??
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Madison Tipne
•I understand the frustration, but the job search requirement exists because unemployment is meant to help people who are genuinely seeking to replace lost income. If your hours might come back 'next month,' that's actually uncertain enough that you should be looking for more stable employment anyway.
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Ryder Ross
If you're having trouble reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor to get a definitive answer about your specific situation, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. It was really helpful when I couldn't get through the regular phone lines to ask about my eligibility questions.
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Finley Garrett
•Thanks for the suggestion! I've been trying to call for days but keep getting the busy signal. I'll check out that video.
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Gianni Serpent
Just wanted to add that you also can't be receiving certain other types of benefits while collecting UI. And if you quit your job voluntarily or got fired for misconduct, you won't qualify. But reduction in hours like yours usually counts as 'involuntary' so you should be good on that front.
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