Why is no unemployment bad for NYS Department of Labor claim status?
I've been working steady for 18 months now and haven't filed for unemployment benefits in that time. My friend told me that having no recent unemployment history could actually hurt me if I need to file a claim with NYS Department of Labor in the future. Is this true? I thought having consistent work would be good for my record. Does anyone know if there's any truth to this or is my friend just confused about how the system works?
11 comments
Join the conversation
Connor O'Brien
Your friend is mixing things up. Having steady employment is actually beneficial for your unemployment claim if you do need to file. NYS Department of Labor looks at your work history to determine your weekly benefit amount - more recent wages generally mean higher benefits. The only time 'no unemployment' could be an issue is if you haven't worked enough quarters to establish a valid claim, but that doesn't sound like your situation.
0 coins
StarSailor
•That makes way more sense! I was worried I'd somehow hurt my chances by staying employed. Thanks for clearing that up.
0 coins
Yara Sabbagh
i think what your friend meant is that if you havent filed unemployment in a while you might not remember how to navigate the system when you need it? like the my.ny.gov website and all that stuff changes
0 coins
Keisha Johnson
•Good point about the system changes. The NYS Department of Labor portal has been updated several times in recent years. But that's just a matter of learning the current process, not a penalty for being employed.
0 coins
Paolo Rizzo
Wait, I'm confused about this too. Does NYS Department of Labor look at how recently you filed claims? I thought they just looked at your wage history from the past year or so.
0 coins
Connor O'Brien
•They look at your base period wages, which is typically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. Whether you filed unemployment claims during that time doesn't matter - they're looking at when you worked and how much you earned.
0 coins
Paolo Rizzo
•Okay that makes sense. So basically consistent work = higher weekly benefit amount if I ever need to file.
0 coins
QuantumQuest
Actually had to deal with this exact situation last year when I got laid off after 2 years of steady work. The NYS Department of Labor rep I finally got through to explained that my consistent employment actually worked in my favor - higher benefit amount and no complications with previous claims to sort through. If you're having trouble reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor when you need them, I found this 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 that shows how it works.
0 coins
StarSailor
•Thanks for sharing your experience! Good to know steady work actually helps rather than hurts.
0 coins
Amina Sy
•interesting about that service, might need to bookmark that for future reference
0 coins
Oliver Fischer
Your friend probably heard something about people who have gaps in their work history having issues with NYS Department of Labor, but that's completely different from your situation. Continuous employment is always going to be viewed favorably.
0 coins