Does the employer pay for unemployment benefits in New York - confused about NYS Department of Labor funding

Employers pay unemployment insurance taxes to fund the system. In New York, employers pay both state unemployment insurance (SUI) taxes to NYS Department of Labor and federal unemployment taxes (FUTA). The rate depends on their experience rating - companies with more former employees who filed claims pay higher rates. Employees don't directly pay into unemployment insurance in NY.

Don't feel bad about it! Unemployment insurance is literally designed for this purpose. Your employer was required to pay those taxes regardless of whether you ever filed a claim. It's insurance - just like how you pay car insurance even if you never get in an accident. The NYS Department of Labor uses those employer contributions to fund benefits for all eligible workers.

I had trouble reaching the NYS Department of Labor when I needed clarification about my employer's protest of my claim. Kept getting busy signals for weeks. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent who explained that my employer was disputing my eligibility, but the system still worked exactly as designed. They have a video demo (https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI) that shows how it works. Worth checking out if you need to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor about employer-related claim issues.

The whole system is messed up anyway. Employers always try to fight legitimate claims to keep their rates low, then act like we're stealing from them when we file. Meanwhile we worked and earned those benefits through our employment. NYS Department of Labor should make it clearer that this isn't charity - it's insurance we're entitled to.

just to add - the employer tax rate can go up or down based on how many claims their former employees file, but there's caps on both ends. so even if a company has tons of layoffs they won't pay unlimited amounts