What is the qualifications for collecting the maximum unemployment in New York?

Answer 1

The maximum benefit you can receive in New York is $405 per week. They take 1/26 of your highest quarter earnings in the first 4 quarters of the last 5 complete calendar quarters your base year, so 405*26=$10,510 total for that quarter, = $3510 per month, or $810 per week you would have had to earn to qualify for the maximum amount payable. In addition, in each of the other 3 quarters, you had to earn a minimum of ( 1/2 of $8910) $4455 per quarter = 1485 per month, or 343 per week. For more details see the Related Link below.

But this is not entirely the straight case....

It is only whether or not you legally earned over $10,510 in a given quarter by any means. Anything, such as a bonus, overtime or a second job in a quarter that pushes you closer toward the $10,510 mark will help your weekly NYS UI payment increase. So if you earned a sizable holiday bonus, incentive pay or even worked during the holidays for extra gift money, that will count towards your maximum earning quarter, which is what is used to calculate your unemployment payment.

I have been laid off twice from professional communications twice in the last 4 years in the non-profit world, so my salary is less than stellar, but the Benny's and time off is great. However, because of the nature of the work, I can take on side work two or three times a year, and offer the outfit I am servicing a lower rate if they add me to their legitimate pay roll. This way, those three weeks of work boost the highest earning quarter and I receive the maximum NYS Unemployment benefit.

Incidentally, if you have any children in daycare, and skim the equivalent of what $42,000 would give you in an eligible quarter after the calculation, regardless if that is what your primary job pays, you will get the maximum and be able to keep the child at home, which comes out to about what you would have at the end of the day after daycare costs. Factor in travel and pain from working, and it all works out the same, or better.

Really learn the simple math above, take on a few extra gigs now and again, and you will always receive an unemployment amount closer to what you regularly bring home.

Bottom line, if you make under $40,000 a year, work a little side job once a year and if you ever get laid off, although it's entirely correct, you'll get more than the half of weekly pay that the equation above shows.

Lastly, if it happens to you, take a breather for a few weeks. Most likely, you won't pass that way again for a long time once you start working again.

Answer 2

The maximum benefits are $405 per week and the maximum paid in a benefit year (52 weeks) is 26 times the full weekly benefit.
$405 (See the Related Link below).