Unemployment Insurance Claimant Information – updated 3.30.2020
What You Need to Know and Do About the CARES Act
Download the CARES Unemployment Insurance Flow Chart
The federal CARES Act was signed into law March 27, 2020. The Act provides enhanced Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) for New Yorkers.
Already Approved for UI Benefits
Your benefits will be updated automatically. (Please do not call; it will only make it difficult for others to reach an agent.)
What you may qualify to receive: 26 weeks of UI benefits, An additional $600/week until 7/31/2020 (Beginning 4/5/2020) and an additional 13 weeks of UI benefits if you are still unemployed after 26 weeks.
Filing a New UI Claim
Apply online at www.labor.ny.gov/signin
What you may qualify to receive: 26 weeks of UI benefits, an additional $600/week until 7/31/2020. (Beginning 4/5/2020) and an additional 13 weeks of UI benefits if you are still unemployed after 26 weeks.
Not Traditionally Eligible for UI Benefits
Check your eligibility for PUA.
If you believe you are eligible, apply online at www.labor.ny.gov/signin.
What you may qualify to receive: 26 weeks of PUA benefits, an additional $600/week until 7/31/2020. (Beginning 4/5/2020) and an additional 13 weeks of benefits if you are still unemployed after 26 weeks.
Exhausted 26 Weeks of Benefits After 7/1/2019:
Apply online at www.labor.ny.gov/signin
What you may qualify to receive: 13 weeks of benefits and an additional $600/week until 7/31/2020. (Beginning 4/5/2020)
New York State is currently waiving the 7-day waiting period for Unemployment Insurance benefits for people who are out of work due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) closures or quarantines.
The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) is experiencing an unprecedented increase in the volume of calls and web traffic for Unemployment Insurance claims. This massive surge created intermittent interruptions in service. They are working to fix the problem and monitor the situation around the clock. DOL is adding staff and will be expanding hours to help address the rapid influx.
By Noon 3/17/20 NYSDOL received more than 21,000 calls. (Compared to the 2,000 calls received last Tuesday, March 10th)
There were 110,000 website visits. (Compared to 42,000 visits made last Tuesday, March 10th)
Individuals may apply for Unemployment Insurance benefits online or by phone. Due to the large influx of unemployment claims, New York State has implemented the following process for filing claims.
The day you file your claim is based on the first letter of your last name, and filing later in the week will not delay payments or affect the date of your claim. Claims are effective on the Monday of the week of filing:
- A-F: Monday
- G-N: Tuesday
- O-Z: Wednesday
- If you missed a filing day, claim on Thursday or Friday.
Online: Click here and create or sign in with your NY.GOV ID
Online Claims may be filed Monday – Thursday from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm, Friday from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm, Saturday all day and Sunday until 7:00 pm
Phone: Call the Telephone Claim Center at 1-888-209-8124 Telephone claim hours have been extended:
Monday through Thursday – 8 am to 7:30 pm.
Friday – 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Saturday – 7:30 am to 8:00 pm.
If you work in NY but live outside NY or live in NY but work outside NY
You should contact State UI claims center where you work. At the time of filing the UI division will advise you of what Career Center to follow-up with, be it in NY or their state. See below for links to New Jersey and Connecticut’s Unemployment Claims Divisions.
New Jersey Unemployment Claims Division
Connecticut Unemployment Claims Division
Part time workers
If you are a part time worker you may be eligible for UI benefits if you have sufficient earnings.
The eligibility rules state: “The Basic Base Period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the quarter in which you file for benefits. If you have enough wages in your Basic Base Period, in order to qualify for benefits, you must meet all three of the following earnings requirements during your base period (basic or alternate):
- You must have worked and been paid wages in jobs covered by Unemployment Insurance in at least two calendar quarters;
- For claims filed in 2017, you must have been paid at least $2,100 in one calendar quarter (this amount increases to $2,200 for claims filed in 2018); (I am told that the amount has risen to $2,400) and
- The total wages paid to you must be at least 1.5 times the amount paid to you in your high quarter. Your high quarter is the quarter of your base period in which you were paid the most money. Exception: If your high quarter wages were $9,570 or more, you must have been paid at least $4,785 (half of $9,570) total in the other three quarters of your base period.
PLEASE SEE Claimant Handbook for complete details on UI eligibility requirements
Unemployment Insurance: A Claimant Handbook