The three-year window runs backward from the filing date regardless of the layoff, so filing later can push an otherwise-qualifying pre-layoff year outside the window entirely.
Watch the filing date against the three-year window, not just the layoff itself
The requirement is one continuous qualifying year within the three years immediately before the petition is filed, and that three-year window moves with the filing date rather than with the employment history. If the strongest continuous twelve-month stretch occurred before the layoff, delaying the petition risks pushing that period outside the three-year lookback entirely, leaving only the post-rehire period available, and that period may not yet reach a full year. Employers dealing with a continuity gap should map the filing timeline carefully: if the pre-layoff year is the one being relied upon, filing sooner preserves it within the window; if the post-rehire year is the one being built toward, the petition cannot be filed until that period independently reaches twelve continuous months of full-time qualifying employment.