In New York State, where coronavirus lockdown measures went into effect on March 20, 700 Department of Labor workers fielded 1.7 million calls in a single week. Meanwhile, the New York Department of Labor website was largely unresponsive due to the tremendous number of people attempting to apply for unemployment insurance. The DoL website remains sluggish as of this writing as more people try to file for unemployment. To deal with the volume you can only apply on certain days based on the first letter of your last name:
All the confusion, technological failures, and the sluggish response of the state to anticipate the effect of mass layoffs has led to a lack of proper information on how to apply for unemployment insurance. In this post, we want to take you through some of the essential steps to ensuring you can access state benefits. Note that regardless of when your application gets through, your benefits will be retroactive to the time you became eligible.
First off, you need to understand your eligibility status, which means you will either qualify for traditional NYS unemployment insurance (UI) or for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) funded by the federal government CARES Act.
Traditional Unemployment Insurance
To qualify for traditional UI you must have:
If you are currently awaiting an appeal of a previous unemployment denial, you cannot re-apply at this time. Unfortunately, the appeals bureau is currently closed due to the pandemic, and as of this writing, there is no clear way to receive these benefits while an appeal is pending.
Everyone Else
However, many workers in New York do not qualify for traditional UI, but have had their work or home life upended by coronavirus. These professions include, but are not limited to farm workers, independent contractors, freelancers, and even traditional employees without sufficient work histories (think recent grads or new state residents). Other traditional workers may have had to quit in order to take care of sick family members and they too are not covered by UI under the state system.
At the moment New York State is relying on federal funds under the CARES Act to bolster its UI payments so it can cover everyone else who has been laid off due to coronavirus. If you don’t qualify for traditional UI, you should visit this page which has a list of all workers who can access PUA. Acknowledging that the country’s workforce is comprised of many more non-traditional jobs than in the past, PUA expands access to those workers and provides for an additional $600 per week on top of your calculated UI benefits.
Applying
Regardless of whether you qualify for UI or PUA, you must create a NY.gov ID and fill out a New York State Department of Labor individual application. Important information you need includes:
According to the NYS Department of Labor Site the PUA funds will begin on April 5, but as of this writing, the NY PUA application has not yet been created. We will update this post when that changes.
If you are in any doubt, apply for unemployment and be truthful in your application. The state UI application already includes a question about whether you lost work due to coronavirus. It is up to the State to determine whether you are eligible or not, and you may have the right to appeal any decision. You are not penalized for applying if you are found to be ineligible.
If you’re still unsure about your status, you can always consult the NYS department of Labor claimant handbook, which comes in 12 languages. There is also a rate calculator, which can help you determine how much you qualify for and an FAQ, which is useful.
