Form Nys-50 - Employer'S Guide To Unemployment Insurance, Wage Reporting, And Withholding Tax Page 21
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52NYS-50 (10/11) Page 21 of 52
G. Unemployment insurance benefits
5. They are not totally unemployed. No benefits are payable for any day
on which they performed some work whether full-time or part-time, or
This section reviews the rules under which your former employees can
on a self-employed or freelance basis.
collect unemployment insurance benefits, and explains what you should
6. They are corporate officers who are devoting any time or effort to the
do when a former employee files a claim for benefits.
corporation’s business, even though wages or salaries may not be
paid at that time.
Rules for receiving unemployment benefits
7. They are receiving vacation or holiday pay for a previously
To qualify for unemployment benefits, claimants:
designated period.
• must demonstrate recent substantial attachment to the labor market;
8. They are employees of educational institutions and file claims for
• must be out of work through no fault of their own;
benefits based on such employment between academic years or
• must be ready, willing, and able to work; and
terms and during customary vacation or holiday recesses, provided
they have a contract or reasonable assurance of employment in the
• must be actively seeking employment.
ensuing academic period.
A claimant who has qualified for benefits according to the guidelines
Note: After receiving 13 weeks of benefits, claimants who do not have
above, can have the active work search requirement waived and
a definite date to return to work and do not obtain employment through
remain eligible for benefits if the claimant is attending a training course
a union hiring arrangement are required to accept employment they are
approved by the Commissioner of Labor.
capable of performing, even if they are not suited for the job by training
or experience, as long as the position pays not less than the prevailing
Employment and earnings requirement
local wage for the job and 80% of the claimant’s highest calendar-quarter
To qualify for benefits, the law requires that a person:
earnings in the base period.
1. Work in covered employment in at least two quarters out of the first
How much can a jobless worker receive?
four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the filing
of the claim for benefits, with wages of at least $1,600 paid in the
The benefit rate for a week of total unemployment is one twenty-sixth
quarter with the highest wages, and total wages paid equal to at least
of the worker’s wages in the calendar quarter with the highest wages
one and one-half times the wages in the quarter with the highest
during the base period. If highest quarter wages are $3,575 or less, the
wages.* or
benefit rate is one twenty-fifth of wages. Benefits range from $64 to a
maximum of $405. The first week of unemployment after the claim is
2. Work in covered employment in at least two quarters out of the
last four completed calendar quarters prior to the filing of the claim
filed is a waiting week for which no benefits are paid.
for benefits, with wages of at least $1,600 paid in the quarter with
Partial benefits can be paid for any week in which a claimant works no
the highest wages, and total wages paid equal to at least one and
more than three days and earns no more than the maximum benefit rate.
one-half times the wages in the quarter with the highest wages.*
Benefits under the state’s regular unemployment insurance program
* For this purpose, the higher-quarter earnings are capped at 22 times
are payable for up to 26 weeks of total unemployment at the full weekly
the current maximum benefit rate.
benefit rate or an equivalent amount during a greater number of weeks if
the claimant is partially employed. These benefits are payable during the
Those claimants who have some covered employment and earnings
claimant’s benefit year – the 52-week period following the week in which
in the last five completed calendar quarters prior to filing the claim but
the claim is filed.
do not qualify for benefits under either of the above conditions due
to insufficient earnings, may have their base period of the first four of
An individual who qualifies for benefits under the quarterly wage
criteria may apply within 10 days of receipt of such notification to have
the last five completed calendar quarters extended by the equivalent
number of quarters they received Workers’ Compensation or Volunteer
the weekly benefit amount re-computed, based upon one-half his or
her average weekly wage for all employment during the base period
Firefighters’ Benefit Law payments up to a maximum of two quarters.
that established the claimant’s eligibility. The burden of proof of these
Wages earned in employment that was lost due to misconduct or the
earnings falls on the claimant.
commission of a felony in connection with that employment cannot be
used to establish a valid claim under either of the above conditions.
During periods of high unemployment, up to 13 additional weeks of
Those wages will not be used in the computation of the claimant’s
extended benefits or a varying amount of emergency benefits may
benefit rate.
be payable. Also, claimants who are eligible for regular benefits while
attending a training course approved by the Commissioner may be
Conditions that affect eligibility for benefits
eligible for up to 26 additional weeks of benefits if their regular benefits
expire while they are still in training. These additional 26 weeks are not
Claimants are ineligible for benefits if:
chargeable to the employer’s account.
1. They left their job without good cause or due to marriage; were
Pension reduction. Individuals who are eligible for unemployment
dismissed for job-related misconduct; or, after filing for benefits,
insurance and are receiving a retirement pension financed by a
refused suitable employment without good reason. Benefits are
base-period employer may have their weekly benefits reduced if their
denied until they work again and earn an amount equal to at least
base-period employment with that employer resulted in eligibility for the
five times their weekly benefit rate and then lose that later job
pension or an increase in the amount of the pension.
through no fault of their own. A claimant may or may not be eligible if
the reason for leaving the employer is to follow a spouse.
Benefits are reduced as follows:
2. They are not ready, willing, and able to work or not actively seeking
1. If a base-period employer contributed 100% to a claimant’s pension
employment for which they are fitted by training and experience.
plan, the weekly benefit will be reduced by 100% of the weekly
Benefits are denied for as long as any of these conditions exist.
pension amount.
3. They are unemployed because of a strike, lockout, or other industrial
2. If a base-period employer contributed more than 50% (but less than
controversy in the establishment where they work. The suspension
100%) to the pension plan, the weekly benefit will be reduced by 50%
of benefits lasts for 49 days, unless the dispute ends earlier, and
of the weekly pension amount.
applies to all employees, whether or not they are involved in the
3. If a base-period employer contributed 50% or less to the pension
dispute.
plan, there will be no reduction in the weekly benefit rate.
4. They lose their employment because of a criminal act that involves
Social security benefits are not deductible from the benefit rate.
the commission of a felony in connection with their job. No benefits
are payable for a year after discharge.
Workers’ compensation limitation. The unemployment insurance
benefits to which a claimant may be entitled are limited to the difference
between the amount of workers’ compensation benefits and 100% of the
claimant’s average weekly wage.
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