Can child support take the $600 unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor?
I just started getting unemployment benefits again after being laid off from my restaurant job last month. My weekly benefit amount is $600 through NYS Department of Labor. I'm behind on child support payments and I'm worried they might garnish my unemployment checks. Does anyone know if child support enforcement can take money directly from unemployment benefits in New York? I really need this money for rent and basic expenses while I'm job searching.
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Jasmine Hernandez
Yes, unfortunately child support can garnish unemployment benefits in New York. The NYS Department of Labor is required to withhold up to 50% of your weekly benefit amount for child support obligations if there's an active garnishment order. You should contact the child support enforcement unit to see if you can work out a payment plan.
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Axel Far
•Oh no, that's exactly what I was afraid of. Do they automatically start taking it or do I get some kind of notice first?
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Luis Johnson
this happened to my brother last year and they took like half his unemployment money right away. no warning or anything, just showed up missing from his direct deposit
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Ellie Kim
You should receive a notice before any garnishment starts, but sometimes there are delays in the mail. The child support enforcement agency has to send you documentation about the garnishment amount. If you're already behind on support, they might have filed the garnishment order while you were working. Check your NYS Department of Labor online account to see if there are any deductions listed.
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Axel Far
•I'll log into my account right now and check. Thanks for the tip about looking for deductions listed there.
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Fiona Sand
Wait I thought they couldn't take unemployment money?? This is really stressing me out because I might be in the same situation soon. How much can they actually take from the $600?
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Jasmine Hernandez
•Child support is one of the few debts that can garnish unemployment benefits. In New York, they can take up to 50% if you only owe current support, or up to 60% if you're behind on payments. So from $600, they could potentially take $300-360 per week.
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Fiona Sand
•That's terrifying. I can barely survive on the full amount as it is.
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Mohammad Khaled
I had a nightmare trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor about this exact issue when my unemployment got garnished. Kept getting busy signals for weeks. Finally found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that actually got me through to a real person. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Cost me way less stress than sitting on hold for hours every day trying to get answers about my benefit deductions.
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Axel Far
•How does that work exactly? I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for days about this and can never get through.
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Mohammad Khaled
•They basically handle the calling for you and get you connected to an actual NYS Department of Labor representative. Way better than dealing with the busy signals and getting hung up on constantly.
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Alina Rosenthal
The system is just designed to screw over people who are already struggling. They take your unemployment money when you need it most, but good luck getting help when your weekly claim gets stuck in adjudication for months!
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Finnegan Gunn
been there! you should definitely try to contact child support enforcement directly to work out a payment plan before they start garnishing. sometimes they'll reduce the amount if you can show financial hardship
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Andre Laurent
I went through this exact situation last year. The garnishment can start pretty quickly once they have your employment info, and NYS DOL automatically complies with child support orders. My advice: call the child support collection unit ASAP (before they start garnishing) and ask about setting up a voluntary payment plan. If you can show you're actively job searching and demonstrate hardship, they might agree to a lower monthly amount instead of taking 50-60% of your unemployment. Also keep detailed records of your job search activities - it can help your case. The key is being proactive rather than waiting for them to start taking the money.
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