Does an employer have to approve unemployment benefits in New York?
I got laid off from my job last month and filed for unemployment with NYS Department of Labor. My claim is still pending and I'm wondering - does my former employer have to approve my unemployment claim for me to get benefits? A coworker told me employers can block unemployment claims but I'm not sure if that's true. Can someone explain how this works?
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Khalid Howes
No, your employer doesn't have to 'approve' your unemployment claim. NYS Department of Labor makes the final decision based on the facts of your case. However, your employer does get notified when you file and can contest the claim if they believe you're not eligible (like if they think you were fired for misconduct). They have about 10 days to respond to the notice.
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Rita Jacobs
•That makes sense. So even if they contest it, NYS Department of Labor still decides? What happens if they do contest it?
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Ben Cooper
If your employer contests your claim, it goes into adjudication where NYS Department of Labor investigates both sides. They'll look at your separation reason, any documentation, and may contact both you and your employer for more info. The whole process can take several weeks unfortunately.
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Naila Gordon
•Ugh the adjudication process is the worst part! Mine took like 6 weeks last year when my old boss tried to say I quit when I was actually laid off.
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Cynthia Love
employers love to contest claims even when they know the person is eligible... its like they think it costs them money or something
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Darren Brooks
I had a similar situation where I couldn't get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to check on my contested claim status. After weeks of busy signals, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you connected to real agents. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration trying to call myself.
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Rosie Harper
•Interesting, never heard of that before. Did they charge you a lot to make the call?
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Darren Brooks
•They focus more on the convenience factor rather than cost. For me it was worth it just to finally talk to someone about my claim instead of getting hung up on constantly.
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Elliott luviBorBatman
Been through this twice now. Your employer can definitely make things difficult by contesting but NYS Department of Labor usually sides with the employee if you were legitimately laid off. Just make sure you have any documentation about your layoff and keep filing your weekly claims even during the adjudication process.
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