Furloughed in March 2020, NY UI started, told in February 2021 that I was laid off in Nov 2020, under impression can return, no date set, work search

New York unemployment insurance in April of 2020? It is necessary to conduct a job search in order to receive unemployment benefits. Furlough has no particular legal meaning. An employer might take you back or it might not. Anyone who is placed on furlough should assume that they may never go back. Therefore, searching for alternate employment is always the best idea effective the day after anyone goes on "furlough". Even if you believed that you were discriminated against, you would have an affirmative duty to mitigate your damages. That would mean that from April of last year you would have been looking for other work. Remember, that you only have 1 year from the date of an adverse employment action to file a claim for discrimination. Your facts do not reference any type of discrimination. But were there discrimination, you should assume that the last day you worked, April of last year, was your adverse employment action date. That means the date you were terminated. So, if you had a plausible theory that your employer's actions related to your career, were motivated by some discriminatory animus, having seen nothing of the sort in your facts, your latest or Statute of Limitations date for filing a discrimination complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights is probably some date in April. Your last day of work for this employer. Best suggestions. Look for work immediately since it appears that you may not be returning to this employer.  And, if there was discriminatory animus, or if your termination was motivated by your belonging to one or more protected classes of employees (for example, they thought you were too old, or too sick, or too religious, or the wrong race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected classes of employees to which you may belong?) you probably only have 1 year from your last day of work in April (whatever that date was minus a day or 2) to file a formal complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights. Unless you are owed unpaid wages, filing in State Supreme Court, without exhausting the administragtive remedies courtesy of our State Division of Human Rights, would not be my choice. Good luck.