Unemployment Benefits
The New York State Laborers’-Employers’ Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET) is committed to helping members who are out of work get the compensation they need and are entitled to from the state. Below are a few guidelines to remember when seeking Unemployment Benefits.
The Department of Labor bases your eligibility on the quarters before the quarter when you were laid off. There are four three-month quarters in a year:
Jan.1 – March 31 - July 1 – Sept. 30 and April 1 – June 30 - Oct. 1 – Dec. 31
To qualify for any unemployment benefits, you must have worked in at least two of the last five calendar quarters AND have earned a minimum of $1600 in wages in one of those quarters.
When you file for unemployment, be sure to have the following documents:
a valid Social Security card
a second ID with your signature on it, such as a driver’s license
a copy of your Record of Employment, Form I A 12.3, from every
employer you have worked for in the past year, not only your most recent employer.
Being denied benefits could happen for many different reasons.
They include things like:
failure to meet the required work and wage criteria
voluntary quitting or misconduct
job refusal participation in a strike or lockout unavailability and or incapability (you must be able and willing to work) criminal misconduct.
For more information, call the Laborers’ Union toll free at 1-800-797-5931. You can apply for benefits online at www.labor.ny.gov or by calling toll-free 1-888-209-8124.