How to calculate gross wages for unemployment NYS Department of Labor weekly claim certification
I'm really confused about how to calculate gross wages when I file my weekly claim with NYS Department of Labor. I worked part-time last week and made $340 before taxes, but I'm not sure if that's what I should be reporting. Do I include overtime pay? What about tips? I bartend on weekends and my hourly wage is $15 but I also get tips that vary. Last week I got about $80 in tips on top of my regular pay. Should I be adding the tips to my gross wages or reporting them separately? I don't want to mess up my claim and get in trouble for reporting the wrong amount.
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Butch Sledgehammer
Yes, you need to report ALL gross wages earned during the week you're claiming. This includes your base hourly pay ($15/hour), any overtime pay (if you worked over 40 hours), and all tips received. So in your case, you'd report $340 + $80 = $420 as your total gross wages for that week. Tips are considered wages for unemployment purposes in New York.
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Sara Unger
AuthorThank you! So it doesn't matter that the tips were cash and not on my paycheck?
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Freya Ross
wait im confused about this too... do i report what i earned or what i actually got paid? like if i worked last week but dont get paid until this friday?
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Butch Sledgehammer
You report wages for the week you actually worked, not when you received the paycheck. So if you worked January 6-12, you report those wages on your weekly claim for that week, even if the paycheck comes later.
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Leslie Parker
I had issues with this exact thing and couldn't get through to NYS Department of Labor for weeks to clarify. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual agent in like 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. The agent explained that you report gross wages (before any deductions) for the actual week worked, including ALL income - wages, tips, commissions, etc.
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Sergio Neal
How much does that service cost? I've been trying to reach someone at NYS Department of Labor for over a month about my adjudication.
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Leslie Parker
It was worth it for me since I was getting nowhere with the regular phone lines. Much better than sitting on hold for hours just to get disconnected.
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Savanna Franklin
Just be really careful about this stuff. I reported my wages wrong once and they hit me with an overpayment notice months later. NYS Department of Labor doesn't mess around with wage reporting errors.
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Sara Unger
AuthorOh no, what happened? How did you fix it?
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Sadie Benitez
@Savanna Franklin That s'really scary! I m'dealing with this exact situation now and want to make sure I don t'make the same mistake. Did you have to pay back the overpayment right away or did they give you a payment plan option? And was it because you under-reported or over-reported your wages?
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Juan Moreno
For tips specifically - if you're in a restaurant job, make sure you're reporting what you actually received, not what the restaurant reports as your tip income. Sometimes there's a difference and you want to be accurate on your weekly claim certification.
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