Can I apply for unemployment if I was paid under the table - NYS Department of Labor eligibility question
I worked at a restaurant for about 8 months but they paid me cash every week and didn't take out taxes or anything. I just got laid off because they're cutting staff and I really need to apply for unemployment benefits. Can I still file a claim with NYS Department of Labor even though I was paid under the table? I'm worried they won't have any record of my employment. Has anyone been in this situation before?
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Payton Black
Unfortunately, if you were paid completely under the table with no tax withholdings or W-2 forms, you won't be eligible for regular unemployment insurance through NYS Department of Labor. UI benefits are funded by employer contributions based on reported wages. Since your employer didn't report your wages to the state, there's no earnings record for NYS Department of Labor to base a claim on. You'd need documented employment with proper tax withholdings to qualify.
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Angel Campbell
•That's what I was afraid of. Is there any way to get my employer to report the wages retroactively or am I just out of luck?
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Harold Oh
You might want to report the employer to the Department of Labor for wage violations. When employers pay under the table, they're violating labor laws and tax requirements. While this won't help your immediate unemployment situation, it could help future workers and you might be entitled to back payments of proper wages. The employer should have been withholding taxes and paying into the unemployment insurance system.
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Amun-Ra Azra
•This happened to my cousin and she ended up filing a complaint. It took months but the employer had to pay penalties and back taxes.
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Summer Green
wait so if you get paid cash you can't get unemployment at all?? that seems really unfair because lots of people work cash jobs especially in restaurants and construction
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Payton Black
•The unemployment system is an insurance program - employers pay premiums (unemployment taxes) and employees become eligible for benefits. If no premiums were paid on your behalf, there's no insurance coverage. It's similar to how you can't collect car insurance if you never paid premiums.
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Gael Robinson
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I needed to discuss a complex wage issue like this. Ended up using claimyr.com to get connected to an actual agent who could explain my options. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Sometimes these situations are more complicated than they appear and you need to talk to someone who understands the system.
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Angel Campbell
•Thanks, I'll check that out. I definitely need to talk to someone who can tell me what my actual options are.
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Edward McBride
The whole system is rigged against working people. Employers get away with paying under the table because they know workers won't report them, and then when you need help you're left with nothing. Meanwhile they probably pocketed all the money they should have been paying in unemployment taxes.
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Darcy Moore
•exactly! and then they act surprised when workers don't trust the system
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