New York State is waiving the 7-Day waiting period for unemployment insurance benefits for people who are totally or partially unemployed due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) closures or quarantines.
On Friday, April 10th, the Department of Labor (DOL) implemented a new filing system. If you have already filed partial claims under the old system and were told to call the call center to finish the application, the DOL will call you directly instead.
If you are filing a new unemployment insurance claim, the day you should file is based on the first letter of your last name:
- A - F, file your claim on Monday
- G - N, file your claim on Tuesday
- O - Z, file your claim on Wednesday
If you missed your filing day, file your claim on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Filing later in the week will not delay your payments or affect the date of your claim, since all claims are effective on the Monday of the week in which they are filed. Once your claim is approved you will receive benefits backdated to the first day of unemployment.
Please note that:
- The Unemployment Insurance hotline is experiencing intermittent phone issues and long wait times.
- The Department of Labor advises that you should use the website if possible to file your claim and wait for them to contact you directly. The new streamlined online application system can handle most applications from start to finish.
Visit the U.S. Department of Labor website.
Learn about Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
All Career Centers in New York State are closed until further notice. Unemployment Insurance benefits will not be impacted and customers should continue to file for weekly benefits as normal.
