Can you work a 1099 job and still collect NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits?
I've been collecting unemployment for about 6 weeks now and just got offered some freelance work that would pay me as a 1099 contractor. It's only part-time, maybe 15-20 hours a week, but I'm scared to take it because I don't want to mess up my unemployment claim. The job would probably pay around $600-800 per week. Can I work as a 1099 contractor and still keep getting my weekly unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor? Do I need to report this income differently than regular W2 work? I really need the extra money but can't afford to lose my UI benefits completely.
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Dylan Mitchell
Yes, you can work as a 1099 contractor while collecting unemployment, but you MUST report all earnings on your weekly claim certification. NYS Department of Labor will reduce your benefits based on how much you earn. Generally, you can earn up to 25% of your weekly benefit rate without any reduction, but anything over that gets deducted dollar-for-dollar from your benefits. So if your weekly benefit is $400, you could earn up to $100 without reduction.
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
•Thank you! So if I'm getting $380 per week in benefits and the 1099 work pays $150 per week, I'd lose $55 from my unemployment check? That still leaves me ahead financially.
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Sofia Martinez
be really careful with 1099 work though... i did some freelance graphic design last year while on unemployment and forgot to report it for like 3 weeks. NYS Department of Labor found out somehow and hit me with an overpayment notice for $1,200. they're pretty strict about tracking income now
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
•Oh no! How did they find out? I definitely don't want to get in trouble for not reporting properly.
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Sofia Martinez
•not sure exactly but i think it was through tax records or something. the client reported paying me so it showed up in their system eventually
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Dmitry Volkov
The key thing with 1099 work is that you report GROSS earnings for the week you perform the work, not when you get paid. So if you work Monday-Friday and earn $200 that week, you report $200 on that week's certification even if the client doesn't pay you until the following month. NYS Department of Labor is very clear about this in their guidelines. Also make sure you're still doing your required job search activities - contractor work doesn't count toward your job search requirement.
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Ava Thompson
•Wait, the 1099 work doesn't count as job search? I thought any work-related activity counted toward the requirement.
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Dmitry Volkov
•No, job search activities have to be for permanent employment opportunities. Freelance or contract work is considered temporary income, not a job search contact.
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CyberSiren
I had trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor to clarify this exact situation last month. Kept getting busy signals and their online chat was always full. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent who explained everything clearly. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really saved me from making a mistake with my claim.
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
•I might need to try that if I can't get through to them. Did they charge you a lot to use their service?
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CyberSiren
•It was worth it for me since I couldn't get through any other way and needed answers fast. Much better than spending hours on hold or worrying about messing up my claim.
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Miguel Alvarez
just make sure u understand the difference between being an employee and contractor. if they're telling u when to work and how to do the job u might actually be misclassified as 1099 when u should be W2. that changes everything with unemployment
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
•It's definitely legitimate 1099 work - I set my own schedule and use my own equipment. Good point though about making sure it's properly classified.
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Grant Vikers
One more thing to keep in mind - if your 1099 work starts generating consistent income that approaches or exceeds your weekly benefit amount, NYS Department of Labor might consider you "returned to work" and could close your claim entirely. This typically happens when you're earning more than your weekly benefit rate for several consecutive weeks. So while the part-time freelance work you described should be fine, just be aware that if it grows into something bigger, you might need to make a decision between the contract work and continuing unemployment benefits. Also, keep detailed records of all your earnings and hours worked - if there's ever a question about your claim, having good documentation will help you avoid any overpayment issues.
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Mus Am
I haven't seen anybody mention how to certify the amount since the website only ask questions to answer with either yes or no and there is no place to put any gross income how do you guy's do it
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Dmitry Smirnov
•@Mus Am You re'right that the initial questions are yes/no, but after you answer yes "to" working or earning money during the week, the system should take you to additional screens where you can enter specific dollar amounts. On the NYS Department of Labor website, after you click yes "to" having worked or earned money, you ll'see fields to enter your gross earnings and hours worked. If you re'not seeing those fields, try using a different browser or clearing your cache - sometimes the site has technical issues. You can also try the mobile app which might display the earning entry fields differently. If you re'still having trouble accessing the earnings entry section, that s'definitely something worth calling NYS Department of Labor about or using a service like Claimyr to get through to an agent who can walk you through the process.
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Mae Bennett
•@Mus Am I had this same issue when I first started reporting my 1099 earnings! @Dmitry Smirnov is absolutely right - after you answer yes to "the" question about working or earning money, there should be follow-up screens that appear. Sometimes the website gets glitchy though. What worked for me was making sure JavaScript was enabled in my browser and trying during off-peak hours like early (morning or late evening when the) site isn t as'busy. If you re still'not seeing the earnings input fields, you might want to try the NY.gov mobile app instead of the desktop site - I ve heard'some people have better luck with that. Definitely don t skip'reporting your earnings just because the website is giving you trouble - that could cause major issues with your claim later on!
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