Fired my employee last week - can they collect NYS Department of Labor unemployment benefits?
I own a small construction company and had to terminate one of my workers last Friday for repeatedly showing up late and missing deadlines. He was a decent guy but just couldn't get his act together after multiple warnings. Now I'm wondering if he's going to be able to collect unemployment benefits and if that's going to affect my unemployment insurance rates with NYS Department of Labor. Does anyone know how this works when you fire someone for performance issues vs misconduct? I documented everything but I'm not sure if that matters.
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StarSeeker
In most cases, yes they can collect unemployment benefits from NYS Department of Labor unless you can prove willful misconduct. Performance issues and tardiness usually don't qualify as misconduct unless it was intentionally defiant behavior. The key is whether they were deliberately violating company policy or just struggling to meet expectations. Your documentation will help if NYS Department of Labor contacts you about the claim, but routine performance problems typically don't disqualify someone from UI benefits.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•That's what I was afraid of. So even though I gave him warnings about being late, that probably won't count as misconduct? He was late like 8 times in two months.
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Sean O'Donnell
wait so if i get fired i can still get unemployment?? i thought you had to quit or get laid off to qualify
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StarSeeker
•You can definitely get unemployment if you're fired, as long as it wasn't for misconduct. Being laid off, fired for performance, or having your position eliminated all qualify you for benefits. Only misconduct like theft, violence, or willful policy violations would disqualify you.
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Zara Ahmed
Your unemployment insurance rates might go up depending on how many claims get filed against your account. NYS Department of Labor uses an experience rating system - more claims can increase your rate. However, one claim probably won't make a huge difference unless you're a very small employer. The documentation you kept is important because if you contest the claim, NYS Department of Labor will review whether the termination was for misconduct. Chronic tardiness can sometimes qualify as misconduct if you have clear policies and progressive discipline records.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•We do have a written policy about attendance and I documented every time he was late plus the verbal warnings. Should I contest the claim when it comes in or just let it go?
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Zara Ahmed
•Given that you have documentation of chronic tardiness and warnings, it might be worth contesting. NYS Department of Labor will look at whether the employee willfully disregarded your attendance policy. Eight tardiness incidents in two months with documented warnings could potentially qualify as misconduct if your policy was clear about consequences.
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Luca Esposito
I went through something similar when my previous employer fired me for being late too many times. I was going through a rough patch personally and they filed a contest with NYS Department of Labor saying it was misconduct. It took forever to get resolved - like 6 weeks of adjudication before they approved my claim. The whole process was really stressful because I couldn't pay my bills while waiting.
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Nia Thompson
•6 weeks is brutal! Did you end up getting all the back pay once they approved it?
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Luca Esposito
•Yeah I got all the back benefits but those 6 weeks were rough. If you need to talk to someone at NYS Department of Labor about your claim status, I found this service called Claimyr that actually gets you through to a real person. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.
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Mateo Rodriguez
honestly the unemployment system is so broken, doesn't matter if you fire someone or they quit, they'll probably get benefits anyway. i've seen people get unemployment after stealing from their employer because nys department of labor barely investigates anything anymore
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StarSeeker
•That's not really accurate. NYS Department of Labor does investigate misconduct claims, especially when employers provide documentation. Theft would definitely disqualify someone from benefits if proven. The process might be slow but they do make proper determinations based on the evidence.
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GalaxyGuardian
just document everything going forward with other employees. keep records of warnings, policy violations, performance issues. makes it easier if you ever have to deal with this again
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