I see. I misunderstood. I thought you meant someone would come to the unemployment office with a notice of being laid off, and declare being unemployed, despite having other jobs.<p>I have no experience with filing for unemployment. I reviewed the New York &quot;Unemployment Insurance A Claimant Handbook&quot; at <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.labor.state.ny.us&#x2F;formsdocs&#x2F;ui&#x2F;TC318.3e.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.labor.state.ny.us&#x2F;formsdocs&#x2F;ui&#x2F;TC318.3e.pdf</a> . It confirms your understanding; even working for a fraction of an hour counts as &quot;work&quot;, so someone with a job teaching 3 hours a week is employed and cannot file for unemployment benefits.