How will NYS Department of Labor know if I turn down a job offer during unemployment?

Yes, employers can and sometimes do report declined job offers to NYS Department of Labor, especially larger companies. When you file your weekly claim, you're required to report any job offers you received that week. If you don't report it and they find out later, it could be considered fraudulent concealment. The safer approach is to report the offer but document why it wasn't suitable work - if the pay is significantly below your previous wage or it's not in your field, you may have grounds to refuse without penalty.

honestly i've turned down a couple offers and never reported them, nothing happened to me but that was like 2 years ago maybe things are different now

The general rule is you can refuse work that pays less than 80% of your previous wage in the first few weeks of unemployment, but this percentage can change over time. Also, if the job requires skills you don't have or is significantly different from your usual work, that could be grounds for refusal. Document everything - the job description, salary offered, your reasons for declining. Keep records in case NYS Department of Labor questions it later.

I had trouble reaching someone at NYS Department of Labor about this exact question a few months ago. Kept getting busy signals and dropped calls for weeks. Finally found this service called Claimyr that helped me get through to an actual agent (claimyr.com). They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. The agent I spoke with clarified that you do need to report job offers on your weekly claim, but she also explained the suitable work requirements which vary based on how long you've been collecting.

Just be honest on your weekly claims! The NYS Department of Labor system is designed to help you find suitable work, not force you into a bad situation. If you have legitimate reasons for declining (pay too low, not your field, unsafe conditions), document them and report the offer when you file. Better to be transparent than risk getting caught in a lie later.

This whole system is so confusing! I declined a retail job last week because it was part-time minimum wage and I have 15 years of management experience. Now I'm worried I should have taken it just to be safe. These rules keep me up at night.

I went through something similar about 6 months ago. The key thing to understand is that "suitable work" has specific criteria - it's not just any job offer. For the first 13 weeks, you can generally refuse work that pays less than 80% of your previous weekly benefit rate or your previous wage (whichever is lower). After that, the threshold drops. Since you mentioned the pay is "way below" what you were making and it's outside your field, you likely have valid grounds to refuse. Just make sure to report the offer when you file your weekly claim and document your reasons. I kept a simple log with date, company name, position offered, salary, and reason for declining. Never had any issues with NYS DOL, and being upfront about it actually showed I was actively job searching.

I was in a very similar situation last year - turned down a job that was about 40% less pay than my previous role and completely different industry. I was terrified about reporting it on my weekly claim, but I did anyway and explained in the comments section that it was unsuitable due to significant wage reduction and being outside my field of experience. Never heard anything back from NYS DOL about it. The weekly claim form actually has a section where you can explain why you declined work, which made me feel like they expect this to happen sometimes. My advice is definitely report it but be clear about why it wasn't suitable - the fact that you're being thoughtful about your career trajectory rather than just taking anything shows you're being responsible about your job search.