what disqualifies you from receiving unemployment benefits in NY?

There are several ways to get disqualified from unemployment in NY. The main ones are: 1) Quitting without good cause 2) Getting fired for misconduct 3) Refusing suitable work 4) Not meeting work search requirements 5) Not being able and available for work. Your situation might qualify as 'good cause' if you can document the hostile work environment. You'll need evidence like emails, witness statements, or complaints you filed with HR.

ugh the work search thing is such a pain!! I got disqualified for 2 weeks because I didn't log enough job contacts one week when I was sick

I've been dealing with NYS Department of Labor for months and the system is so confusing. They can disqualify you for tons of stuff they don't clearly explain upfront. Like if you turn down a job offer even if the pay is way lower than what you made before, or if you're not available certain days of the week. The whole thing is designed to trip people up and deny benefits.

From what I understand, quitting for hostile work environment can qualify as 'good cause' but you need really solid documentation. NYS Department of Labor will investigate and contact your employer to get their side. If you can't prove the hostile environment, they'll consider it voluntary quit and disqualify you. Also make sure you applied for other jobs first or tried to resolve the situation through proper channels before quitting.

yeah they'll disqualify you for basically anything these days, the whole system sucks

Another thing to be aware of is that NYS Department of Labor also disqualifies people for: 1) Not reporting income from part-time work while collecting benefits 2) Being unavailable due to vacation or personal reasons without notifying them 3) Collecting benefits while actually working (even if it's just a few hours) 4) Not responding to their requests for information within the deadline. I'd recommend keeping detailed records of everything - your job search activities, any income you earn, and all communications with DOL. The documentation requirements can be pretty strict so it's better to over-document than under-document.

I went through a similar situation last year where I quit due to a toxic supervisor. Here's what I learned from the process: NYS DOL will schedule a fact-finding interview with both you and your former employer to determine if you had "good cause" to quit. During this interview, they'll ask for specific examples of the hostile behavior, dates when incidents occurred, and what steps you took to address the situation. The key is showing that the work environment was so unreasonable that any rational person would have quit. Keep all those emails you mentioned - they're crucial evidence. Also, if you filed any complaints with HR or documented conversations with colleagues about the situation, gather those too. Even though you didn't apply for other jobs first, if you can prove the environment was genuinely hostile and affecting your health/wellbeing, you still have a good chance of qualifying. Just be prepared to provide a detailed timeline of events and be completely honest during the interview process.