How long to keep unemployment records from NYS Department of Labor - filing getting confusing
Started cleaning out my file cabinet and found stacks of unemployment paperwork from when I was laid off in 2019. I've got weekly claim confirmations, job search logs, benefit payment stubs, everything. Some of it goes back like 6 years from previous claims too. My question is how long am I supposed to hang onto all this NYS Department of Labor documentation? I know the IRS wants tax records for a certain time but what about unemployment stuff? Don't want to throw away something important but this is taking up way too much space.
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Alberto Souchard
You should keep unemployment records for at least 3 years after your claim ends. NYS Department of Labor can audit your claim or request verification of job search activities during that time. For tax purposes, keep the 1099-G forms with your tax records for 7 years since unemployment benefits are taxable income. Weekly claim records and job search logs can usually be discarded after 3 years unless you're dealing with an overpayment or appeal.
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Nia Watson
•Thanks! So I can probably toss the stuff from 2018 and earlier but keep everything from 2019 forward for now?
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Katherine Shultz
i kept mine for like 10 years lol probably overkill but better safe than sorry. takes up hardly any room in a box somewhere
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Marcus Marsh
Actually had NYS Department of Labor contact me 4 years after a claim asking about my job search records during an audit. Good thing I kept everything! They were reviewing a random sample of claims from that year. The whole process took about 2 months but since I had all my documentation it was just a matter of sending copies. If you can't prove you did the required job searches they can make you pay back benefits.
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Hailey O'Leary
•Wait they can audit you years later?? I thought once your claim was over and you got a new job that was it!
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Marcus Marsh
•Yep, they have up to 3 years to audit any claim. It's not common but it happens. They're looking for fraud or people who didn't follow the rules.
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Cedric Chung
The NYS Department of Labor website used to have this info but good luck finding anything useful on there anymore. I swear they redesign it every six months and move everything around. You'd think basic questions like record retention would be easy to find but nope.
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Talia Klein
Had a nightmare situation where I needed old unemployment records for a background check and had thrown everything away. Ended up using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at NYS Department of Labor to request copies. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call and getting busy signals. They were able to pull my old records but it took weeks and cost money for certified copies.
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Nia Watson
•Good to know there's a way to get copies if needed! I'll probably keep the important stuff and scan the rest to PDF to save space.
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Maxwell St. Laurent
Just keep the 1099-G forms for sure, those are the most important for taxes. Everything else is probably not worth the storage space unless you're in some kind of legal situation.
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Leslie Parker
I'd recommend creating a simple filing system - keep the 1099-G forms with your tax documents for the full 7 years, and put the weekly claim records/job search logs in a separate folder labeled with the claim year that you can purge after 3 years. That way you're not guessing what to keep and what to toss. I made the mistake of mixing everything together and it was a mess when I needed to find specific documents later.
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Luis Johnson
•That's a really smart approach! I never thought about separating them by importance and retention period. I'm definitely going to set up a similar system - it'll make it so much easier to know what to keep and when I can safely get rid of older stuff. Thanks for the organizing tip!
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Norah Quay
Pro tip from someone who went through this recently - before you toss anything, take photos or scan the documents with your phone. I use a free scanning app that creates PDFs and stores them in the cloud. That way I have digital copies of everything but don't need the physical space. Came in handy when I needed to reference old job search activities for a new claim. The digital files are searchable too which is way better than digging through paper folders.
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Layla Mendes
•That's brilliant! I never thought about scanning everything before tossing the physical copies. What scanning app do you recommend? I've got boxes of this stuff and the digital approach sounds perfect - especially with the search feature. Would save so much space and still have everything if I need it later.
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Molly Chambers
•@Norah Quay Which scanning app do you use? I m'in the same boat with tons of paperwork taking up space. The cloud storage with search sounds like exactly what I need - would love a specific recommendation if you don t'mind sharing!
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Dylan Campbell
•@Norah Quay I d'love to know which scanning app you use too! I m'dealing with the same space issue and the idea of having searchable digital copies sounds perfect. Do you find the phone scans are clear enough to read all the details on the unemployment forms? Some of mine have pretty small print.
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Arjun Patel
•@Norah Quay I use Adobe Scan and it s'been great for this kind of document management! It automatically detects document edges, corrects perspective, and creates crystal clear PDFs even from phone photos. The OCR is excellent so all text becomes searchable, and it syncs to Adobe Cloud automatically. CamScanner is another solid free option. For unemployment docs with small print, I ve'found both apps handle the fine details really well - just make sure you have good lighting when scanning. The peace of mind of having digital backups while freeing up physical space is totally worth the time to scan everything.
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Libby Hassan
I work in records management and deal with retention schedules all the time. For unemployment records in NY, the 3-year rule is solid advice - that aligns with the statute of limitations for most benefit-related issues. One thing to add though is if you ever had an overpayment situation or appeal, keep those records indefinitely until it's fully resolved plus 3 years after resolution. Also worth noting that if you're self-employed now or might be in the future, those old job search records can actually be helpful to show your work history and professional network development. I've seen people use them years later when applying for business loans or professional licensing.
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Owen Jenkins
•That's really helpful insight from a professional perspective! I hadn't considered that job search records could be useful for business loans or licensing down the line. The point about overpayment situations is important too - I imagine those could get complicated if you don't have the documentation to back up your case. Thanks for the detailed breakdown on retention periods!
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QuantumQuester
I went through something similar when I moved last year - had filing cabinets full of unemployment paperwork from multiple claims going back to 2017. After reading through all the NYS DOL materials I could find, I ended up keeping everything in a systematic way: 1099-G forms go with tax records for 7 years, weekly certifications and job search logs for 3 years from claim end date, and any correspondence about overpayments or appeals indefinitely. The peace of mind is worth the small amount of storage space, especially after reading about people getting audited years later. I also started scanning recent documents as I receive them so I don't end up with another paper mountain in the future.
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Max Knight
•That's such a smart systematic approach! I'm dealing with the exact same situation - boxes of unemployment paperwork from different years all mixed together. Your method of categorizing by document type and retention period makes so much sense. I especially like the idea of scanning new documents as they come in to avoid the paper pile-up in the future. Did you find it difficult to sort through everything and figure out which documents belonged to which claim period? Some of my older paperwork doesn't have clear dates and I'm worried about accidentally tossing something important.
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