Unemployment Benefits
Labor Law § 590 — up to twenty-six times the weekly rate in a benefit year, after a waiting week
Notice when the work stops. An employer liable for contributions tells each employee in writing, at every permanent or temporary separation, reduction in hours or other interruption that leaves the employee totally or partially unemployed, of the right to apply for unemployment benefits.
For a claimant paid in all four quarters of the base period, the weekly benefit is one twenty-sixth of the wages paid in the highest quarter, with a smaller divisor for low earners, up to a maximum. Benefits are paid up to twenty-six times the weekly rate in a benefit year, after a waiting period of one effective week.
No benefits are paid, until the claimant has worked again and earned at least ten times the weekly rate, after:
- Quitting without good cause.
- Refusing, without good cause, an offer of work the claimant is reasonably fitted for.
- Losing the job through misconduct in connection with it.
Compelling family reasons. Leaving for a compelling family reason does not disqualify. The section names verified domestic violence that makes staying unsafe, caring for a family member's verified illness or disability for longer than the employer will grant leave, following a spouse whose job or military post moved too far to commute, and child care after reasonable efforts to find other care.
Losing a job for a felony committed in connection with it, on a conviction or a signed admission, means no benefits for twelve months.
Sources for this section (2)
- Labor Law § 590 — Rights to benefits
- Labor Law § 593 — Disqualification for benefits
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.