Do I have to pay back unemployment benefits to NYS Department of Labor?
I've been getting unemployment for about 8 months now and I keep hearing conflicting things about whether you have to pay it back later. My neighbor said it's like a loan but my cousin said it's not. I'm really confused because I don't want to get hit with a huge bill later that I can't afford. Does anyone know for sure if NYS Department of Labor makes you pay back regular UI benefits? I've been filing my weekly claims correctly and doing my job searches so I think I'm following all the rules.
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Jasmine Hancock
No, you don't have to pay back regular unemployment benefits as long as you received them correctly. UI is an insurance program - you and your employers paid into it through payroll taxes. The only time NYS Department of Labor requires repayment is if there was an overpayment due to fraud or error (like not reporting work earnings, being disqualified but continuing to claim, etc.). If you're filing weekly claims honestly and meeting job search requirements, you're fine.
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James Maki
•Oh thank god, that's such a relief! I was really starting to panic about this. So as long as I keep reporting everything accurately I don't need to worry?
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Cole Roush
Your neighbor is totally wrong - unemployment isn't a loan at all. I collected for 6 months last year and never had to pay anything back. Just make sure you're being honest about any work you do while claiming and keep doing your job searches. The only people who have to pay back are the ones who lie or make mistakes on their claims.
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Scarlett Forster
Been through this myself - if you ever get an overpayment notice from NYS Department of Labor, don't panic immediately. Sometimes they make mistakes too. I got one last year that was wrong and I had to call them to straighten it out. But yeah, regular benefits that you qualify for don't need to be repaid. The confusion probably comes from people mixing up regular UI with loans or advances.
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Arnav Bengali
•How did you get through to them? I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for weeks about a different issue and can never get anyone on the phone.
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Scarlett Forster
•Honestly I used a service called Claimyr that helped me get through. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way easier than trying to call yourself and getting hung up on constantly.
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Sayid Hassan
wait so if I worked a few days last month and forgot to report it on one of my weekly claims, am I going to have to pay everything back?? I just remembered I did some temp work and didn't put it on the certification...
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Jasmine Hancock
•You won't have to pay back everything, but you'll need to report that work ASAP. Call NYS Department of Labor or update your claim online. They'll calculate any overpayment for just those specific weeks where you should have reported the work. Better to fix it now than wait for them to find out.
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Rachel Tao
The whole system is so confusing honestly. I wish they explained this stuff better when you first file. I was worried about the same thing for months until someone at the workforce center told me it's not a loan.
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