Do furloughed employees have to look for work while on NYS Department of Labor unemployment?
I got furloughed from my retail job 3 weeks ago and they said they'll call me back when business picks up, probably in 6-8 weeks. I'm collecting unemployment benefits right now but I'm confused about the job search requirements. Do I still need to do the 3 work search activities per week if I'm expecting to go back to my job? The NYS Department of Labor website isn't super clear about this situation. I don't want to mess up my claim but also don't want to waste time applying for jobs when I'll hopefully be back at work soon.
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Freya Larsen
Yes, you still need to complete the work search requirements even if you're on furlough. The NYS Department of Labor considers you available for work, so you must actively seek employment. You need 3 work search activities per week and maintain your job search log. The only exception would be if your employer filed for standby status for you, which means they expect to recall you within a specific timeframe.
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Ravi Kapoor
•How do I know if my employer filed for standby status? They didn't mention anything about that when they furloughed us.
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GalacticGladiator
wait I thought if you were coming back you didn't have to look?? this is confusing
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Omar Zaki
•No, that's only if you're on official standby status through your employer. Regular furlough without standby filing means you're treated like any other unemployed person and must search for work.
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Chloe Taylor
I had the SAME issue last year! Spent weeks trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor to clarify this. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually reach an agent - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. The agent confirmed I needed to do work search even though I was expecting recall. Saved me from potentially getting disqualified.
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Diego Flores
•Did you actually apply for other jobs while waiting for recall? Seems weird to interview knowing you'll leave when your old job calls back.
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Chloe Taylor
•Yeah I did some applications and even went to a couple interviews. I was honest about my situation and most employers understood. Plus you never know if your old job will actually call you back.
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Anastasia Ivanova
The whole system is ridiculous honestly. They furlough you with a promise to bring you back then make you jump through hoops looking for work you don't even want. NYS Department of Labor needs to fix this nonsense.
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Sean Murphy
•I get the frustration but the work search requirement makes sense. Too many people get strung along by employers who never actually recall them.
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GalacticGladiator
Thanks everyone this helps! I'll start doing my work searches just to be safe. Better than risking my benefits getting cut off.
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Nalani Liu
Just went through this exact situation last month! @Ravi Kapoor definitely do the work searches to be safe. One tip that helped me - I focused on applications that were similar to my furloughed position so if my recall fell through, I'd have backup options in the same field. Also, when you do your weekly certifications, there's usually a question about whether you refused work - if your old employer calls you back, you obviously want to say yes to that recall. The NYS system is confusing but better to over-comply than risk losing benefits over a technicality.
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Daniel White
•That's really smart advice about applying for similar positions! I hadn't thought about using this time to potentially find something even better. My retail job wasn't great anyway - low hours and not the best pay. Maybe this furlough could be a blessing in disguise if I find something more stable while still keeping my recall option open.
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Beth Ford
Just to add another perspective - I work in HR and have seen this confusion a lot. The key thing to understand is that "furlough" and "standby status" are two different things in NY's system. If your employer just told you verbally they'll call you back, that's typically just a furlough and you need to do work searches. Standby status requires specific paperwork filed by your employer with the Department of Labor stating they expect to recall you within 4 weeks (and can be extended). Without that official filing, the system treats you as any other unemployed person. I'd recommend calling your employer's HR department to ask if they filed standby paperwork - if they did, you should have received notification from NYS DOL about it.
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Zane Hernandez
•This is really helpful clarification @Beth Ford! I think a lot of people (myself included) don't realize there's a difference between being told "we'll call you back" and actual standby status with paperwork. It sounds like most furloughs are probably the informal kind where you still need to do work searches. @Ravi Kapoor this might explain why the DOL website wasn t'clear - they probably assume most people understand this distinction but it s'not obvious to us regular folks dealing with it for the first time.
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Marina Hendrix
I'm dealing with something similar right now - got furloughed from my restaurant job two weeks ago. After reading all these responses, I called my employer to ask about the standby status paperwork that @Beth Ford mentioned. Turns out they had no idea that was even an option! They just assumed telling us "we'll call you back when things pick up" was enough. So now I'm definitely doing my work searches to be safe. It's frustrating because I really do want to go back to my job, but at least now I understand why the system works this way. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this thread has been way more helpful than anything I found on the official NYS DOL website!
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Zara Perez
•@Marina Hendrix that s'exactly what happened to me too! My manager just said we "ll'bring everyone back when business improves but" never mentioned any official paperwork. It s'crazy how many employers don t'know about the standby status option - seems like it could save everyone a lot of confusion. I ended up calling the DOL directly took (forever to get through and) they confirmed that without the standby filing, I had to do the work searches. At least now we both know for sure! Good luck with your job search and hopefully we both get called back soon.
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