Who can draw unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor?
I'm really confused about who actually qualifies for unemployment in New York. My friend told me almost anyone can get it but I've been reading different things online. I worked part-time for 8 months at a retail store before they cut my hours completely, and now I'm wondering if I even qualify to draw unemployment benefits? Are there specific requirements about how long you have to work or how much you have to earn? I don't want to waste time filing if I'm not eligible.
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Keisha Taylor
You need to meet specific base period earnings requirements to draw unemployment in NY. Generally, you must have worked in at least two quarters during your base period and earned a minimum amount. For part-time work, as long as you earned enough wages and are now unemployed through no fault of your own, you should qualify. The NYS Department of Labor looks at your total earnings over the base period, not just how long you worked at one job.
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Yara Khoury
•What exactly is a base period? And how do I know if I earned enough?
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StardustSeeker
Base period is usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters before you file. So if you file in January 2025, they'd look at October 2023 through September 2024. You need to have earned at least $2,600 in your highest quarter and total base period wages of at least 1.5 times your high quarter amount. Since your hours got cut completely, that sounds like a qualifying separation.
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Paolo Marino
•wait so if I only worked for like 3 months total I definitely can't get anything right??
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StardustSeeker
•Not necessarily - depends when you worked and how much you earned. If you made good money in those 3 months and it was spread across quarters, you might still qualify.
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Amina Bah
I had so much trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about my eligibility. Kept getting disconnected after waiting forever. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that connects you directly to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Was able to get my questions answered in like 20 minutes instead of spending days trying to call.
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Oliver Becker
•That's interesting - I've been trying to reach someone for weeks about my claim status. Does it actually work or is it just another service that takes your money?
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Amina Bah
•It worked for me. Much easier than the regular phone system which is basically impossible to get through on.
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Natasha Petrova
THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED ANYWAY. They make it impossible to understand the rules on purpose so people give up and don't apply. I've been fighting with NYS Department of Labor for months over my claim and they keep finding new reasons to deny benefits. Even when you qualify they'll find ways to disqualify you later.
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Javier Hernandez
•What happened with your claim? Maybe someone here can help figure out what went wrong.
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Keisha Taylor
To answer the original question more completely - you can draw unemployment if you're unemployed through no fault of your own, meet the wage requirements, are able and available to work, and actively seeking employment. This includes people who were laid off, had hours reduced to zero, quit for good cause, or were fired for reasons other than misconduct. Students, independent contractors, and people who quit without good cause typically don't qualify.
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Yara Khoury
•This is really helpful. Since my hours were cut to zero I think I should be okay to apply. Thank you!
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