In March 2025, the New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL) issued a revised version of its mandatory Unemployment Insurance Poster. The eligibility criteria for unemployment insurance as listed on the poster have been expanded to include employees whose hours have been reduced to 30 or fewer per week. Virtually all New York employers must update their workplace’s state & federal labor law posters to reflect the most current Unemployment Insurance posting.
Who is Required to Display the New York State Unemployment Insurance Poster?
In the state of New York, employers must comply with the New York State Unemployment Insurance Law unless specifically exempted. All non-exempt employers must display the required Unemployment Insurance poster in an area frequented by employees during the normal course of the workday. Exemptions to unemployment insurance requirements are narrow, limited only to specific occupations and certain types of work performed for Indian tribes, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. As such, most employers in the state must obtain unemployment insurance and post the required poster.
What’s Included on the Required Poster and What Changed?
The required New York Unemployment Insurance poster displays the employer’s legal name, address, and registration number, and provides instructions to employees on what to do if they experience a change in employment that may qualify them for unemployment benefits. The instructions to eligible employees include obtaining a “Record of Employment” form from the employer and calling a toll-free number or visiting an online website to apply for benefits.
Employees in New York may become eligible for up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits if they are laid off, work less than four days a week, quit their job, are discharged, or have their hours reduced. The newly revised poster specifically changes the work hour reduction verbiage, explaining that the reduction in hours must result in 30 hours or less of work per week in order to qualify for unemployment.
Employer Takeaways
All New York employers with unemployment insurance should replace the prior version of the Unemployment Insurance notice with the revised March 2025 version as soon as possible. Posting the most current notice is especially critical for employers who have ever reduced work hours, customarily do so as part of a scheduling process, or plan to do so in the future. Businesses should display the poster in both English and Spanish if they have any Spanish-speaking workers.
Labor Law Posters Online's updated 2025 New York labor law posters now includes the revised Unemployment Insurance poster released by the New York State Department of Labor. Our compliance poster solution is guaranteed to include any recent mandatory updates to required New York and federal posters. Existing Labor Law Posters Online customers who purchased our annual labor law poster subscription service will automatically receive the revised notice as part of their annual coverage.