Does contract work affect unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor?
I've been collecting unemployment for about 6 weeks now and just got offered some freelance graphic design work that would pay around $800 for a 2-week project. I'm worried about how this might affect my weekly claims with NYS Department of Labor. Do I need to report contract work differently than regular employment? Will they reduce my benefits or could this mess up my claim status? The work would be 1099 so no taxes taken out. I really need the extra money but don't want to jeopardize my unemployment benefits.
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Yara Khoury
Yes, you absolutely need to report all contract work on your weekly claims. NYS Department of Labor requires you to report any earnings, including 1099 work. They'll calculate your benefit reduction based on your gross earnings for that week. If you earn more than your weekly benefit amount plus $50, you won't receive any unemployment that week. But don't skip reporting it - that could be considered fraud.
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AstroAlpha
•So if my weekly benefit is $350 and I earn $400 that week from contract work, I'd still get nothing? That seems harsh.
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Keisha Taylor
i did some uber driving while on unemployment last year and had to report every penny. the system is pretty strict about it but as long as ur honest you should be fine. just make sure to keep track of your hours too because they ask about that
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Paolo Longo
•Actually, for contract work you report the income when you receive payment, not when you do the work. So if you complete the project in week 1 but get paid in week 3, you report it in week 3. This is different from regular employment where you report when you work.
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Amina Bah
The whole system is designed to keep people poor! They penalize you for trying to earn extra money while unemployed. Meanwhile they take forever to process claims and leave people hanging for weeks. I had a similar situation with contract work and it was a nightmare dealing with NYS Department of Labor representatives who gave me different answers every time I called.
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Oliver Becker
•I feel you on the phone calls. I've been trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my adjudication issue. Someone told me about this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you through to agents. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about contract work rules.
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CosmicCowboy
Just went through this exact thing! Contract work gets reported as self-employment on your weekly claim. You'll see a section asking about any work performed and money earned. Be super detailed because if they audit you later and find unreported income, you could face an overpayment demand. The good news is that even if you lose benefits for a few weeks due to contract earnings, your claim doesn't end - you just resume when the contract work is done.
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AstroAlpha
•That's reassuring about the claim not ending. I was worried I'd have to refile everything. Did you have any issues with the job search requirements while doing contract work?
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Natasha Orlova
omg this is exactly what happened to my sister except she didnt report it at first because she thought it was just a one time thing and then they found out somehow and she had to pay back like $1200 ðŸ˜
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Oliver Alexander
I'm dealing with something similar right now! Been on unemployment for about 3 months and just started getting some freelance web development gigs. What I learned is that you need to report the income in the week you actually receive the payment, not when you do the work. So if you complete that $800 project over 2 weeks but get paid all at once in week 3, you report the full $800 in week 3. Also keep detailed records of everything - dates, amounts, what the work was for. The NYS system will calculate your benefit reduction automatically once you enter the earnings. And don't worry about the 1099 aspect affecting your claim status - lots of people do contract work while collecting. Just be honest and report everything!
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Aisha Khan
•This is super helpful, thanks! So just to make sure I understand - if I do the work over 2 weeks but get one lump payment of $800 in week 3, I only report it in week 3? And during weeks 1 and 2 when I'm actually doing the work, I don't report anything? That seems counterintuitive but I want to make sure I do this right.
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