Can unemployment garnish your wages for overpayment in NY?
I just started a new job after being on unemployment for 6 months. Today I got a letter from NYS Department of Labor saying I owe them $2,800 in overpayments from my claim. The letter mentions something about wage garnishment if I don't pay it back. Can they actually garnish my wages? I thought I reported everything correctly when I was filing my weekly claims. Has anyone dealt with this before? I'm really worried because I can't afford to lose part of my paycheck right now.
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Isaiah Thompson
Yes, NYS Department of Labor can garnish your wages for unemployment overpayments, but they have to follow specific procedures first. They usually start with demand letters and give you opportunities to set up payment plans or appeal the overpayment determination. Did you receive any previous notices before this one? You should have appeal rights if you believe the overpayment is incorrect.
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Jessica Nguyen
•This is the first notice I got about any overpayment. The letter says I have 30 days to respond or request a hearing. Should I definitely appeal this?
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Ruby Garcia
They can garnish wages but it's not immediate. First they'll try to collect through other means like intercepting tax refunds. If you can't pay the full amount, call them to set up a payment plan - they're usually willing to work with you. The garnishment is typically a last resort when people completely ignore the debt.
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Alexander Evans
•This is good advice. I had an overpayment last year and they let me pay $50 a month. Much better than having wages garnished.
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Evelyn Martinez
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor about this, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Was really helpful when I needed to discuss my overpayment situation because the regular phone lines were impossible to get through.
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Jessica Nguyen
•Thanks, I'll check that out. I've been trying to call for days and just get busy signals or disconnected.
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Benjamin Carter
wait they can take money from your paycheck?? i thought unemployment was supposed to HELP people not make things worse! this system is so messed up
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Isaiah Thompson
•It's only for overpayments - money that was paid incorrectly. The idea is to recover funds that shouldn't have been paid out in the first place.
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Zane Hernandez
I went through this exact situation last year. Yes, they can garnish your wages, but you definitely have options before it gets to that point. First, absolutely request a hearing within those 30 days - even if you think you might owe something, the amount could be wrong. I found out my overpayment was calculated incorrectly and got it reduced by $1,200. Also, keep all your documentation from when you were filing - pay stubs, work schedules, anything that shows what you reported. If you do end up owing money, they're usually reasonable about payment plans. Don't ignore this though - that's when they move to more aggressive collection methods.
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Diego Vargas
•This is really helpful advice! I'm definitely going to request the hearing - you're right that the amount could be wrong. I kept most of my documentation but I'm worried I might be missing some pay stubs. Do you remember what specific documents were most important for your case? Also, how long did the hearing process take? I'm hoping to resolve this before any garnishment happens but want to know what timeline I'm looking at.
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Miguel Ortiz
•@Zane Hernandez This is exactly what I needed to hear! Thank you for sharing your experience. I m'definitely going to request that hearing - if you were able to get your amount reduced by $1,200, maybe mine is wrong too. I think I have most of my pay stubs but I m'going to double-check tonight. Did you have to go to an in-person hearing or was it done over the phone? And how long from when you requested it until you actually had the hearing? I m'just trying to figure out my timeline here since I m'stressed about potential garnishment.
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