Can I ask to be laid off to collect unemployment - would NYS Department of Labor approve this?
I've been thinking about this for weeks now. My job situation has gotten really toxic and I'm wondering if I can just ask my supervisor to lay me off instead of quitting so I can collect unemployment while I look for something better. Would the NYS Department of Labor even approve benefits if my employer agrees to this? I know quitting usually disqualifies you but what about if they technically lay me off? Has anyone tried this approach before?
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AstroAce
This is a really tricky area with unemployment law. Technically, if you ASK to be laid off, the NYS Department of Labor could consider that a voluntary quit rather than an involuntary layoff. The key question they'll ask during adjudication is whether you would have continued working if the layoff hadn't happened. If you requested it, that could be seen as constructive quitting.
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Andre Laurent
•That makes sense but what if my employer is already planning layoffs anyway? Would it matter if I volunteered to be included?
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Zoe Kyriakidou
oh god i literally just went through this exact situation last month!! my manager was super cool about it and said they were downsizing anyway so they'd include me in the next round. BUT when i filed my weekly claim the NYS Department of Labor called me for an interview and asked a bunch of questions about whether I requested to be let go. it took like 3 weeks in adjudication before they approved my benefits.
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Andre Laurent
•What kind of questions did they ask? I'm worried they'll figure out I wanted this to happen.
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Zoe Kyriakidou
•they asked if I would have kept working if no layoff happened, why I was selected for layoff, stuff like that. I just said my position was eliminated due to company restructuring which was technically true
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Jamal Brown
The safest approach is to document legitimate business reasons for any layoff. If your employer can show they had financial reasons, restructuring, or position elimination that wasn't specifically because you asked, you'll have a much better chance during the adjudication process. The NYS Department of Labor looks at the underlying cause - was it business necessity or employee preference?
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Mei Zhang
•This is why I always tell people to be careful about these arrangements. Even if your boss agrees to help you out, you could still get denied benefits if the investigation shows you initiated the separation.
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Liam McConnell
I tried calling the NYS Department of Labor like 50 times to ask about this exact scenario and could never get through to a real person. The automated system just keeps hanging up on me after being on hold forever. Anyone know a better way to actually talk to someone there?
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Jamal Brown
•I actually found this service called Claimyr that helped me get through to NYS Department of Labor agents when I was dealing with my adjudication issues. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call myself.
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Liam McConnell
•Thanks! I'll definitely check that out because this calling situation is driving me crazy.
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Amara Oluwaseyi
honestly the whole unemployment system is so messed up, they make it impossible to get straight answers about anything
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AstroAce
•I understand the frustration, but in this case there are legitimate policy reasons for the restrictions. They need to prevent people from gaming the system while still helping those who genuinely lose their jobs through no fault of their own.
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