How do companies pay unemployment benefits in NYS - confused about employer contributions
I'm trying to understand how the whole unemployment system works from the employer side. My small business is growing and I'm hiring more people, but I'm confused about how companies actually pay for unemployment benefits. Do we pay into some fund every quarter? Is it based on how many claims our former employees file? I've been getting conflicting information and want to make sure I'm handling this correctly with NYS Department of Labor requirements.
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Malik Johnson
Companies pay unemployment insurance taxes quarterly to NYS Department of Labor. It's called SUTA (State Unemployment Tax Act) and the rate depends on your company's experience rating - basically how many of your former employees have filed claims. New businesses start at a standard rate, then it adjusts based on your claim history.
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CosmicCaptain
•That makes sense! So if I have employees who quit voluntarily versus getting laid off, does that affect my rate differently?
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Isabella Ferreira
Yeah the experience rating thing is key. I run a seasonal business and learned this the hard way. Every time someone files for UI benefits and gets approved, it goes against your account. The more claims, the higher your tax rate goes in future years. You definitely want to contest any questionable claims.
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Ravi Sharma
•How do you contest them? Is there a specific process with NYS Department of Labor?
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Isabella Ferreira
•When someone files, you get a notice asking if you want to protest the claim. You have like 10 days to respond with documentation showing why they shouldn't get benefits - like if they were fired for misconduct or quit without good cause.
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Freya Thomsen
This is so confusing!! I thought unemployment was just something the government paid for. So every time one of my employees gets unemployment I have to pay more taxes? That seems unfair if they got laid off through no fault of their own.
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Malik Johnson
•It's not really unfair - think of it like insurance. Companies that have more claims pay higher premiums, just like with car insurance. It encourages employers to maintain stable employment when possible.
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Omar Zaki
Been dealing with NYS Department of Labor for years and honestly their employer services are terrible. Good luck getting through to anyone when you have questions about your tax rate or need to protest a claim. I've had better luck using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually reach an agent when I needed to discuss specific claim issues. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works.
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CosmicCaptain
•Thanks for the tip! I'll check that out. Getting through to NYS Department of Labor has been impossible so far.
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AstroAce
just pay the taxes quarterly dont overthink it lol. the rate adjusts automatically based on your claims
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Malik Johnson
One more thing - make sure you're reporting wages correctly on your quarterly reports. Any mistakes there can mess up your tax calculations and cause headaches later. The NYS Department of Labor is pretty strict about accurate wage reporting.
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CosmicCaptain
•Good point. I'll double-check our payroll records before filing the next quarterly report.
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