Special Programs Frequently Asked Questions

The Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP) gives you an opportunity to start a business and create your own job while receiving UI benefits. If accepted into the SEAP, you will work full time at starting your own business and you will not be required to look for other work. 

Details on SEAP.

If you lost your job directly or indirectly because of foreign trade, you may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).

This assistance may include:

• Additional weekly benefits under Trade Readjustments Allowances;
• Paid training;
• Job search assistance;
• Relocation allowances

To be eligible for these benefits, the United States Department of Labor must certify that foreign trade was an important reason that you lost your job. Your employer, the New York State Department of Labor, your union, or you and two other affected employees must file a petition to get this certification. You can get a petition form from your local Career Center or online at www.doleta.gov/tradeact/taa/petitions.cfm. The petition must be filed with the United States Department of Labor within one year of the date you lost your job.

Important: You must meet certain deadlines to qualify for some of these benefits. Contact your local Career Center for information about the services you may be able to get under this program. To find your closest Career Center, go to www.labor.ny.gov or call the Department of Labor Contact Center at (888) 4-NYSDOL (888-469-7365).

Details on TAA

A provision in the UI Law (the 599 Program) allows UI claimants to receive benefits while they attend a training course or program. The training, however, must be approved by the Department of Labor.

Once we approve training under this provision, UI claimants:

• Are excused from the requirement to look for work
• May qualify for more weeks of benefits when there are funds

If you told us that you attend (or have been accepted to) a training program when you filed your claim, the Labor Department will contact you. We will review your course or program. Then we will tell you if it is approved or not.

If you delay notifying us about training acceptance or attendance, it may reduce the benefits you can collect. If you fail to disclose attendance in training while receiving benefits, it may result in penalties and loss of future benefits.

If you want to attend training, contact your local New York State Career Center promptly to qualify for the highest benefit allowed under this program. Trained counselors at the Career Center can help you with your training needs and guide you to approvable training programs. Ask about the 599 Training Program.

If we cannot approve your training, you may be eligible to collect UI benefits while in training - as long as you are able to seek and accept employment.

Also see frequently asked questions about the 599 Program.

A "dislocated worker" is someone who lost their job due to one of the following situations:

• You were terminated or laid off from your job, are eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits, and are identified by us as unlikely to return to your previous industry or occupation.
• You lost your job as a result of a plant closing or substantial layoff.
• You have been unemployed for a long time and are unlikely to get another job in the same or similar occupation.
• You were self-employed and are unemployed due to general economic conditions or a natural disaster.

You may also be considered a dislocated worker if you have been away from the labor force for many years. For example: you were a full-time homemaker and you must now return to the labor force because you have lost your source of income.

As a dislocated worker, you may be eligible for retraining and other services. Contact your local Career Center for information about services available under this program. To find the closest Career Center, use the Career Center Locator or call the Department of Labor Contact Center at (888) 4-NYSDOL (888-469-7365).