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File immediately but be prepared for delays if your employer contests the claim. My company tried to fight my unemployment after they laid me off, claiming it was performance related. Took three months to resolve through appeals but I eventually got all my back pay. The NYS Department of Labor adjudication process can be slow.
One more thing - make sure you're actually eligible before filing. Some travel nurses work as independent contractors rather than employees. If you got 1099s instead of W-2s, you might not qualify for regular unemployment benefits. Check your tax documents first!
To answer your administrative remedies question - you can file a formal complaint through NYS Department of Labor's internal grievance process, contact the NYS Office of the State Comptroller, reach out to your elected representatives, and if applicable, file complaints with federal agencies if there are civil rights violations. Document everything and keep pushing through official channels. Courts generally won't hear cases unless you've exhausted these options first.
UGH the federal unemployment tax act is such a mess!! My employer went out of business and apparently never paid their unemployment taxes properly. Now I'm stuck dealing with NYS Department of Labor trying to figure out my benefits while I can barely pay rent. The whole system is broken!!!
CosmicCommander
Actually this is relevant since understanding how unemployment taxes work helps explain how the system is funded. Your FUTA payments go into the federal unemployment trust fund, while your NYS Department of Labor payments fund the state benefits. When people have issues getting through to NYS Department of Labor for claim questions, services like claimyr.com can help connect you directly to agents. They have a good demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works.
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Natasha Volkova
•Never heard of that service but honestly anything that helps reach NYS Department of Labor would be useful. I've been trying to get through about my adjudication for weeks.
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Javier Torres
For your books: Dr. FUTA Tax Payable, Cr. Cash when you pay. The rate is 6% on first $7,000 of wages but you get credit for state unemployment taxes paid to NYS Department of Labor, so effective rate is usually 0.6%. Make sure you're paying quarterly if you owe more than $500 annually.
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