Published by:
on: Tuesday, July 16th, 2002

To apply for New York State regular unemployment insurance or disaster unemployment assistance, residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut should call the New York State Department of Labor Telephone Claims Line at 1-888-209-8124 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Residents of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and other states should call the New York State Department of Labor Telephone Claims Line at 1-877-358-5306 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Applicants should have their Social Security numbers, their earnings and employment history available when they call. Individuals having difficulty with the telephone claims system can visit any New York State Department of Labor State Employment Services office for assistance. There are offices in each of the five boroughs (a complete listing is available at www.labor.state.ny.us.)

To access unemployment or disaster unemployment, immigrants must be able to present proof of INS work authorization. Undocumented individuals and those without work authorization are not able to obtain benefits.