What happens after 26 weeks of unemployment or more in NY?
New York State, like most in the US, offers workers up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, but what happens once you’ve used those up. We’ll explain.
Workers across the United States pay into unemployment insurance programs in the state where they are employed so that if they get laid off, their income won’t completely dry up overnight. Each state runs their own system the amount of time and requirements to be able to claim weekly benefits vary from one to the next.
In New York, if a worker loses their job through no fault of their own and meet other requirements, they can claim unemployment benefits. Like most states in the nation, workers can receive up to 26 weeks of UI payments during a benefit year. But what happens if you can’t find a new job within that period?
What happens after 26 weeks of unemployment or more in NY?
As mentioned, New Yorkers can claim up to 26 weeks of UI benefits, or 104 effective days, during a benefit period. This one-year period begins the Monday after the week you filed your original claim.
Once you’ve exhausted those weeks, the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) explains: “If you remain unemployed or become unemployed during the week immediately following the end of your benefit year, you must file a new claim immediately following the end of your benefit year.”
What is the maximum and minimum unemployment benefit in NY for 2024?
Those who lose their job through no fault of their own in New York and meet other requirements can expect at most $504 in weekly jobless financial assistance. However, the real amount will be determined by the state based on a worker’s “base period” with a minimum weekly amount set at $132 as of January 2024.
In order to calculate an individual’s unemployment compensation, officials at the NYDOL will look at a “basic base period” or your “alternate base period. The agency will not “automatically” consider the latter in the event that you have enough wages in your basic base period to assess if you would get a higher weekly amount.
Who can claim unemployment benefits in New York?
Workers must meet three criteria to claim jobless aid in New York besides losing their job through no fault, be actively looking for a new job and being “ready, willing and able to work.” First you must have paid into the Unemployment Insurance through wages earned at jobs covered by the program during at least two quarters of the base period.
You must have been paid a minimum of $3,300 in one calendar quarter for claims that are filed in 2024. And your total wages received over the base period must be no less than 1.5 times your earnings in your high quarter.
An exception to this last requirement would be for those who had wages in excess of $11,088 in their high quarter. In that case, you must have been paid a combined total of half that amount, $5,544, or more during the other three quarters of your base period.
Calculating unemployment benefits in New York
Depending on whether you had earnings in all four base period quarters or at least two will determine how the state calculates your weekly benefits.
In the event that you had wages in all four quarters, NYDOL will take your highest-earnings quarter from your base period. For those whose high quarter earnings are in excess of $3,575, that amount is divided by 26 and the minimum benefit is $143 per week. A high quarter earnings of $3,575 or less is divided by 25.
If you only had earnings in two or three of the base period quarters, the average of the highest two will be used. For those who earned $4,000 or more the average of the two highest will be divided by 26, with a minimum weekly benefit of $143, even if the calculation is lower.
The same minimum amount will be paid to those whose earnings were between $4,000 and $3,575. Your benefit amount will based on your high quarter wages divided by 26. High quarter earnings of $3,575 or less, the average is divided by 25 with the minimum set at $132 per week.
The state provides a benefits calculator online, but NYDOL advises that the benefit rate shown is just an estimate and not a guarantee of the actual unemployment compensation that might be paid out. You can also find examples in the agency’s claimants handbook.