New York Unemployment Benefits and Eligibility


COVID-19 UPDATE: Because the coronavirus pandemic has left so many Americans jobless, the federal regime has given states more than flexibility in granting unemployment benefits. If you accept questions about whether you're eligible for unemployment benefits read our COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits and Insurance FAQ and check out your New York's claimant handbook.


A guide to New York unemployment benefits

The New York Department of Labor is the land agency that oversees administering unemployment insurance claims for citizens. It provides monetary benefits, chore training, task search and other related services for those people who are actively seeking work in New York and who take lost their jobs through no error of their ain.

It is funded through employers in the state at no cost to New York unemployment insurance do good applicants.

How to utilise for unemployment in New York

To apply for benefits, you lot must log in to the New York Section of Labor website.

You can besides use by calling the Telephone Claims Center at (888) 209-8124. New York is currently offering extended telephone filing hours:

  • Monday–Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:thirty p.m
  • Friday, 8:00 a.m. to half-dozen:00 p.m.
  • Sat, 7:xxx a.m. to 8:00 p.m..

When yous file a claim, you will exist prompted to prepare upwardly a Personal Identification Number or Pivot. Yous will use this pin when you call the New York unemployment number (the Telephone Claims Centre) to merits your weekly benefits or to certify your benefits.

The Telephone Claims Middle can be reached at (888) 209-8124. TTY/TDD users should call (800) 662-1220.

To file a New York unemployment merits, you lot will need:

  • your last employer's contact information
  • the concluding day you worked for them
  • the reason you are no longer working for them
  • if yous are receiving a pension or other income
  • if you are able and available to accept full-time work
  • designation that you take the legal right to work in the United States

As part of your registration process, you may also want to explore registration for chore search help services through the state'due south One-Terminate Career Centers and JobZone.

After you apply, you will receive a Budgetary Determination Notice that will suggest you whether or not you take met the New York unemployment qualifications for benefits.

If your claim is canonical, instructions will exist provided as to how you can claim your benefits each week, including documenting your job search activities.


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New York unemployment benefits contacts

To speak with Telephone Claims Center staff

Past phone:

Call the New York unemployment telephone number at (888) 209-8124, G–F, 8:00 a.m. to five:00 p.thou.

If y'all are a hearing impaired individual who is being assisted by another person, call the Telephone Claims Center at (888) 783-1370; however, if you utilize TTY/TDD, call a relay operator first at (800) 662-1220, and inquire the operator to call the Telephone Claims Centre at (888) 783-1370.

In person:

You can visit a New York unemployment office at one of many locations.

By email:

If the Oft Asked Questions section doesn't answer your question, you can send a secure bulletin. Sign in with your NY.GOV ID then click on "Messages." (See How to Ship a Secure Message for more than data.)

Past post:

New York Country Department of Labor, P.O. Box 15130, Albany, NY 12212-5130

 By fax:

Send faxes to (518) 457-9378. Write your Social Security number at the top right-hand corner on all pages and save your fax confirmation.

To claim weekly New York unemployment benefits

Online:

It'due south all-time to claim weekly benefits or obtain benefit payment data online with your NY.GOV ID.  Go to www.labor.ny.gov/signin.

Past telephone:

Telephone call (888) 581-5812.

Hearing impaired claimants who have TTY/TDD equipment can phone call (800) 662-1220. (Service at this number volition only exist provided to English- and Spanish-language callers using TDD equipment.)

You lot may claim your weekly benefits Monday through Friday from vii:xxx a.m. until midnight and from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday until midnight on Sunday.

Have a question about unemployment debit cards? Telephone call KeyBank Client Service at (866) 295-2955.

If you have a Hunt Straight Payment Card that has a balance and you accept a question about that account, phone call Chase Customer Services at (877) 221-1634.

To request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge

By mail:

New York Land Department of Labor, P.O. Box 15131, Albany, NY 12212-5131.

Your written request must exist received inside 30 days of the determination. Exist sure your Social Security number appears at the top right-hand corner on all pages.

The State of New York maintains a Claimant Abet Office to aid people in all stages of their claims process. For more information, phone call (855) 528-5618, One thousand–F, between 9:00 a.chiliad. and iv:00 p.1000.

How unemployment works in New York

Here'south a quick overview of how the unemployment insurance procedure works in New York.

  1. Before y'all employ, make sure y'all come across all benefit requirements. Y'all must come across all requirements to exist eligible to collect unemployment insurance in New York. Among other things, y'all must have lost your job through no fault of your ain, y'all must be ready, willing and able to accept suitable employment, and yous must conduct an ongoing job search.
  2. If you meet all benefit requirements, then yous tin can apply for unemployment insurance. To do so, you must log in to the New York Section of Labor website or call the Phone Claims Middle at (888) 209-8124, K–F, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.chiliad.
  3. Make up one's mind the corporeality of your benefit. This is calculated based on wages earned in either your Basic Base Period or your Alternating Base of operations Period.  To find out how much your actual weekly benefits will be, utilise this figurer.
  4. Determine the number of weeks you can draw benefits. Based on your particular circumstances, the New York Department of Labor will send you a find of how many weeks of eligibility you have. Normally you can draw 26 weeks of benefits in any given Benefit Twelvemonth.
  5. Know how and when you will exist paid. Most applicants starting time receiving benefits anywhere from 3 to six weeks after they file their start claim. Your first week of unemployment is an unpaid waiting week. Upon approving of your awarding, you lot will receive a debit bill of fare and your benefits volition be loaded onto that bill of fare, or you tin can choose direct deposit into your depository financial institution account.
  6. Conduct an ongoing job search. You are required to look for full-time work while drawing benefits, and you must do at least three work search activities each week.
  7. You can file an entreatment if you are denied benefits. If the Section of Labor determines that you are ineligible to receive benefits for one or more weeks, and so you can appeal that decision within thirty days and asking a hearing in front of an Authoritative Police force Judge.

FAQs

What New York unemployment requirements should I follow to receive benefits?

To be eligible to receive unemployment benefits in New York, you must run into the post-obit requirements:

  • You must make a reasonable attempt to discover suitable full-time work. To substantiate your merits you should go on a record of your work search dates, contacts and other pertinent efforts to validate your claim. To maintain your claim, you must do at least 3 work search activities each calendar week. The exception to this is if you have a Work Search Programme that has been approved by the New York unemployment section (the Department of Labor). Piece of work search activities include:
  • Using employment resources at your local New York State Career Center. These resources tin include coming together with a counselor, working with staff to assess your skills and experience, participating in workshops, and following upwardly on job referrals.
  • Visiting a job site and completing a job application.
  • Submitting a job application in response to a public notice.
  • Attending job search fairs and seminars.
  • Interviewing with potential employers.
  • Applying for employment with a former employer.
  • Registering and working with employment agencies, unions or professional organizations.
  • Taking a civil service examination and applying for government task openings.
  • For the first 10 weeks of your job search, you must look for suitable work in all of your near contempo occupations. After 10 weeks, your search must widen to include any suitable work that you are capable of doing, even if yous take no training or experience in that field.
  • If yous find part-time work, you must still continue to look for full-time piece of work to maintain unemployment New York unemployment benefits eligibility.
  • You must exist willing to travel a reasonable distance for piece of work. In New York, this is divers as one hour past private transportation or 90 minutes by public transportation.
  • If you are part of a wedlock, you are required to follow your union's requirements for registering as out of work, and you lot must continue your ain efforts to endeavour and find full-fourth dimension piece of work. You lot must also remain in good standing with your spousal relationship and so yous tin can be dispatched when work is available.
  • You must continue to claim for unemployment benefits for as long as you are out of work. Failure to practice so in a timely mode may delay or void your benefits.
  • You must report to a New York Country Career Center in person based on a letter of the alphabet that will exist sent yous with an appropriate time and date. The engagement is intended to assist you observe a job more quickly. For more than information, telephone call the state's Contact Eye at (888) 4-NYSDOL (888-469-7365) betwixt 8:xxx a.m. and 4:30 p.grand., G–F.
  • If you are chosen to jury duty, you lot will not be denied benefits. If you lot are pregnant, you lot do not demand to inform the state, equally long as it does not affect your ability to expect for and accept work.
  • Y'all may be able to institute a claim based on your armed forces service. You will demand a copy of your Course DD214 to motion forward with this action.
  • If y'all receive a alimony and are actively looking for work, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. You must come across the same conditions every bit all other applicants.
  • If you programme to movement out of New York, you need to phone call the Phone Claims Center at (888) 209-8124 to run across how your claim can exist transferred.

How much will yous be paid by unemployment each week? When will your New York unemployment merits be processed and paid?

To summate the amount of the benefit y'all are entitled to, the country of New York unemployment process uses one of two possible base of operations periods. Base periods are divided into calendar quarters and the quarter you were paid the highest amount of wages determines the amount of your New York unemployment weekly claims. While you can determine ahead of time how much New York unemployment compensation you receive, yous will be formally notified before your benefits begin.

New York'south Bones Base of operations Period is the first four of the last 5 completed calendar quarters prior to the showtime date of the UI claim. If y'all have earned enough wages in your Basic Base Catamenia, those wages will exist used to calculate your benefit corporeality.

If you do not take plenty wages in the Bones Base Period to establish a merits, y'all may be able to apply an Alternating Base Flow.  It is the last four completed calendar quarters prior to the beginning of the claim.

If you have enough wages in the Basic Base Menses, the state will non automatically check to meet if your benefit amount would exist higher in the Alternate Base Period.  If you lot remember your New York unemployment amount would be higher, you tin request that the state use your Alternate Base Period instead.

If your claim begins:

Your base period will be:

Your alternate base of operations period will exist:

This year between January 1 and March 31

Last yr between January 1 and September 30 and the twelvemonth before between Oct 1 and Dec 31

Last year betwixt January 1 and December 31

This year between April 1 and June 30

Last twelvemonth between January 1 and December 31

Last year between April i and December 31 and this twelvemonth betwixt January 1 and March 31

This twelvemonth betwixt July 1 and September thirty

Final year between April i and December 31 and this year between Jan 1 and March 31

Final year between July 1 and December 31 and this year between January 1 and June 30

This twelvemonth betwixt October 1 and Dec 31

Final year between July ane and December 31 and this year between January 1 and June 30

Last yr betwixt October 1 and December 31 and this year between January 1 and September xxx

To qualify for NY unemployment benefits, y'all must see the following earnings requirements during one of your base periods:

  • You must have received wages in at to the lowest degree ii of the quarters.
  • You must have been paid at least $2,600 in one calendar quarter for claims filed in 2020.
  • Total wages paid to you must be at least ane.5 times the amount paid to yous in your highest quarter.  For case, if you fabricated $5,000 in one quarter, and so the total for all four quarters must be $7,500 or higher.

Benefits are paid for up to 26 weeks and will range from $104 to $504 for 2020.

Although New York is a highly multicultural state where many languages are spoken, at the present fourth dimension Monetary Benefit Conclusion notices are only available in English and Castilian.  If you need to have your notice translated into a language you understand, you demand to call the Telephone Claims Center for help in agreement your find. A translator will be provided at no cost to those who need assist.

To find out how much your actual weekly benefits will exist, use this calculator. Please note that this is for interpretation purposes only.  The State of New York will transport you notification of your exact benefit amounts and duration.

When and how will I exist paid my New York Country Unemployment?

Information technology takes well-nigh iii to six weeks from the time you file New York unemployment claims to when you receive your first payment due to processing and reviewing of your New York unemployment awarding. Y'all will not receive benefits during this time, but if yous are canonical, you will receive back weeks of benefits owed with your first payment.

It is important to note that the first full week of your UI claim is an unpaid waiting week.  You will not exist paid any benefits during this period. If you work at all for any reason or do not serve the full week for any other reason, the unpaid calendar week will curl over to the next week.  You must still claim this calendar week so that you can begin receiving benefits the following week.

However, New York is currently waiving the seven-day waiting menstruum for those who are out of work due to COVID-19.

While you are waiting, you need to be responsive to any requests made by the Department of Labor.  Yous should besides merits weekly benefits as long as you lot are unemployed and are eligible for benefits. This is the only fashion you volition receive any back weeks owed to yous.

The New York State Section of Labor'southward Unemployment Insurance program bug payments to claimants through the utilize of a debit card issued by KeyBank. If you have questions most the KeyBank debit card that you will use, telephone call their client service line at 866-295-2955. You lot tin sign up for the debit menu option either online or by phone. If you received benefits on a debit card in the by and you file for benefits again, you lot will receive benefits on the same debit card again unless it has expired.

Yous tin can too receive benefits by direct deposit into your banking concern account. Physical checks are no longer mailed. To sign up for direct eolith, you can annals on the New York State unemployment website.

What if my unemployment claim is denied?

You may exist denied benefits for one or more weeks, or permanently for a number of reasons:

  • You may be denied benefits if you were fired from your task for misconduct or violating company policies, such as insubordination or excessive absenteeism.
  • Y'all can too be denied benefits if you lot quit your job or yous are unemployed because of a work stoppage that was conducted in violation of an existing collective bargaining agreement.
  • Independent contractors cannot collect unemployment benefits only some may exist considered employees under certain New York unemployment laws.
  • Teachers and educators cannot file for unemployment benefits between school terms or during typical vacation periods.
  • You do not have childcare or transportation which limits your availability to work.
  • You are as well sick or injured to work.
  • You did not look for work or did not accept a job that was offered to you; you lot should know that New York unemployment extensions are not common, so it is of import to do your best when searching for new work.
  • You started school or a training program.

How practice you entreatment an unemployment benefit denial in New York?

If you are denied benefits for whatsoever reason, you have the right to entreatment the determination past requesting a hearing in front of an impartial Administrative Law Approximate of the New York Unemployment Insurance Entreatment Board.

You can request a hearing online past sending a message to the country through your NY.gov business relationship. You may also request a hearing past completing a Claimant Hearing Asking Form and mailing it to:  New York State Department of Labor, PO Box 15131, Albany, NY 12212-5131.

Your hearing asking must be made within xxx days from the date of your decision notice.  If a ruling is in your favor, you will exist awarded dorsum benefits for the period y'all waited for a decision. You have the right to bring an attorney to your hearing to represent you.

If you disagree with the results of the hearing, y'all can entreatment the conclusion to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board.  You must file that appeal within 20 days after the ALJ's decision was mailed to you.

If y'all still disagree with that decision, you can file a further entreatment with the Appellate Division of the New York Country Supreme Court.

Eligibility Team

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Eligibility Team

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