Can you turn down a job on unemployment NYS Department of Labor - will they cut my benefits?
I'm getting unemployment benefits and a temp agency called me about a warehouse job that pays $14/hour. The problem is it's only 20 hours a week and no benefits, which is way less than what I was making before ($22/hour full time). Can I turn this down without losing my NYS Department of Labor benefits? I'm worried they'll say I refused suitable work but this job barely covers my rent. Has anyone dealt with this situation?
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Jessica Suarez
You can refuse a job offer, but there are specific criteria NYS Department of Labor uses to determine if it's 'suitable work.' The main factors are: wages compared to your previous job (usually within 80% after a certain period), hours offered, your skills/experience, and travel distance. A job paying $14/hour for 20 hours when you made $22/hour full-time would likely not be considered suitable work, especially early in your claim.
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Jay Lincoln
•That's reassuring! I've only been on unemployment for 6 weeks so hopefully they won't expect me to take such a big pay cut yet. Do I need to document the refusal somehow?
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Marcus Williams
yeah you can turn it down but be careful how you do it. I turned down a job that was like 30 miles away and they dinged me for it even though gas would have cost more than the pay difference. make sure you have good reasons ready
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Lily Young
•You should always document your job refusals in your work search log. Include the date, company name, reason for refusal, and why it wasn't suitable. NYS Department of Labor might ask for this information during an audit or if someone reports the refusal.
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Kennedy Morrison
OMG this exact thing happened to me!! I was so stressed about it. The temp agency kept calling me about these terrible jobs and I was afraid to say no. But my case worker at the career center told me that early in your claim you don't have to accept jobs that are way below your previous wage. After 13 weeks they start lowering the standards though.
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Jay Lincoln
•Did you ever have to explain any refusals to NYS Department of Labor? I'm paranoid they'll audit my claim or something.
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Kennedy Morrison
•No I never had any issues with it. As long as you keep doing your weekly claims and job searches you should be fine. Just document everything like the other person said.
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Wesley Hallow
I had a nightmare trying to reach NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about suitable work requirements. Spent hours on hold just to get disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr that gets you through to actual agents - they have a website at claimyr.com and there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you need to speak to someone about your specific situation.
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Marcus Williams
•is that legit? sounds too good to be true with how impossible it is to reach anyone
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Wesley Hallow
•Yeah it worked for me. Took like 20 minutes instead of the usual 3 hour nightmare. They basically handle the calling and waiting for you.
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Justin Chang
honestly the whole system is messed up, they expect you to take any garbage job just to get off unemployment even if it destroys your career prospects
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Grace Thomas
Had similar issue with part time retail job offer. Turned it down because childcare costs would have been more than the wages. Never heard anything from NYS Department of Labor about it.
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