Does your old job pay for unemployment benefits through NYS Department of Labor?
I just got laid off from my construction job last month and I'm trying to understand how unemployment works. My buddy told me that my old employer actually pays for my unemployment benefits, not the government. Is this true? I'm confused because I thought unemployment came from taxes or something. When I file my weekly claims with NYS Department of Labor, where is that money actually coming from? Does my former boss have to write a check every week or how does this work?
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Marcus Patterson
Your friend is partially correct. Employers pay unemployment insurance taxes (called SUTA taxes) to fund the unemployment system. However, it's not like your old boss writes a personal check for your benefits. All employers pay into a state fund, and that's where your weekly payments come from. The amount each employer pays depends on their history of layoffs and claims.
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Eli Butler
•Oh that makes more sense! So it's like a big pool of money that all employers contribute to?
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Lydia Bailey
Yeah employers definitely pay for unemployment insurance but its more complicated than just your old job paying your specific claim. Every employer in NY pays quarterly unemployment taxes based on their payroll and their experience rating. Companies that lay off more workers pay higher rates. The NYS Department of Labor collects all this money and uses it to pay out benefits to eligible claimants.
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Mateo Warren
•This is why some employers fight unemployment claims so hard - it can raise their tax rates if they have too many successful claims against them.
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Sofia Price
Wait so if I get unemployment does that hurt my old employer somehow? I don't want to cause problems for them since they were actually pretty good to me before the layoffs happened.
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Marcus Patterson
•If you were legitimately laid off through no fault of your own, your employer shouldn't contest your claim. Layoffs are considered involuntary separations and are exactly what unemployment insurance is designed for. Don't worry about filing - you earned those benefits through your work.
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Alice Coleman
I had such a hard time getting through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about this stuff last year. Kept getting busy signals or getting hung up on after waiting forever. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually got me connected to a real person at the unemployment office. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made the whole process so much easier when I needed to verify my claim details.
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Eli Butler
•That sounds really helpful! I've been trying to call them for days with no luck.
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Owen Jenkins
The whole system is set up so workers don't have to worry about the funding details. You pay into the system through your work, employers pay their share, and when you need benefits you file your claim. The NYS Department of Labor handles all the backend financial stuff between employers and the state fund.
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