Can I collect unemployment if I am offered a lower paying job - NYS Department of Labor rules?

You're not required to accept work that pays substantially less than your previous job during the first few weeks of your claim. NYS Department of Labor considers 'suitable work' based on your skills, experience, and prior earnings. Generally, you can refuse jobs paying less than 80% of your previous wage for the first 10 weeks, then it drops to 75% after that. Make sure to document the offer and your reason for refusing it in case they ask.

wait really?? i thought you had to take any job offer or they cut off your benefits. i've been stressing about this same thing

I was in a similar situation last year and actually called NYS Department of Labor to ask about it directly. Took forever to get through though - kept getting hung up on after waiting an hour. When I finally spoke to someone, they confirmed what the first commenter said about the 80% rule. They also told me to keep applying for jobs in my field and document everything. I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to them faster - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of calling back.

This whole system is so confusing!! I'm dealing with something similar except my offer is part-time. Do the same rules apply if they only offer you 20 hours a week when you were working full-time before?

The key thing is DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Keep records of the job offer, your previous salary, and your reasons for refusing. NYS Department of Labor might ask for this information later during an audit or review of your claim.

Just want to add that you should also check if the job offer is in a different field than your previous work. NYS Department of Labor considers your work history and skills when determining suitable work. Since you were in accounting and this is data entry, even though there's some overlap, the significant pay cut combined with it being a step down professionally gives you strong grounds to refuse. I'd recommend continuing to apply for accounting positions and keeping detailed records of your job search efforts - this shows you're actively looking for work in your field.

I went through something very similar a few months ago when I was laid off from my marketing coordinator role at $25/hour. Got offered a retail position at $14/hour and was terrified to refuse it. After doing research and talking to NYS Department of Labor, I learned that refusing unsuitable work won't affect your benefits as long as you document everything properly. The 80% rule mentioned earlier is accurate - you can refuse jobs paying significantly less during your first 10 weeks. I kept a detailed log of all job offers, applications sent, and interviews attended. It really helped when they did a routine review of my claim later. Don't let employers or even well-meaning friends pressure you into taking something that doesn't make financial sense - the system is designed to give you reasonable time to find appropriate work. Just make sure you're actively job searching and can prove it.