If I fire someone do I pay unemployment - NYS Department of Labor employer obligations?
I own a small restaurant and had to let go one of my servers last week for consistently showing up late and missing shifts. Now they're saying they're going to file for unemployment and that I'll have to pay for it. Is this true? Do I as the employer actually pay their unemployment benefits if I fired them? I'm confused about how this works with NYS Department of Labor. The employee wasn't doing their job properly so I don't think they should get benefits but I'm not sure what my responsibility is here.
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Paolo Longo
You don't directly pay the unemployment benefits to your former employee. What happens is NYS Department of Labor will review the claim and if they approve it, your unemployment insurance tax rate might go up in the future. The benefits come from the state unemployment fund that all employers pay into through payroll taxes. However, you should definitely respond to any NYS Department of Labor inquiry about the termination and provide documentation about the attendance issues.
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Keisha Taylor
•Oh okay that makes more sense. So I won't get a bill for their weekly benefits but my taxes might increase later? Should I gather all the written warnings I gave them about being late?
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Amina Bah
Yes definitely keep all your documentation! If the employee files for UI benefits, NYS Department of Labor will send you a notice asking about the reason for separation. You'll want to respond with details about the attendance issues and any disciplinary actions you took. If you can prove it was misconduct, they might be disqualified from receiving benefits and it won't affect your tax rate as much.
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Oliver Becker
•This is exactly what happened at my last job. Boss fought the unemployment claim with attendance records and the person got denied benefits.
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CosmicCowboy
wait so employers can just say someone was fired for misconduct and they don't get unemployment?? that seems like it could be abused easily
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Paolo Longo
•NYS Department of Labor investigates these cases. They don't just take the employer's word for it. The employer has to provide actual documentation and proof of the misconduct, and the employee gets a chance to respond and appeal if they disagree.
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Natasha Orlova
I had to deal with this when I fired someone for stealing. NYS Department of Labor asked for police reports, witness statements, the whole nine yards. It's not easy to prove misconduct but if you have solid documentation it can work. Just being a bad employee isn't always enough though - it has to be willful misconduct or violation of company policies.
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Keisha Taylor
•That's helpful to know. I do have written policies about attendance and I documented the warnings I gave. Hopefully that's enough if they do file a claim.
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Javier Cruz
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor about employer responsibilities, I used claimyr.com recently and it really helped. They have a service that gets you through to actual agents instead of waiting on hold forever. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me hours of trying to get through myself.
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Keisha Taylor
•Thanks I'll check that out. I've been dreading having to call NYS Department of Labor if this becomes an issue.
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Emma Thompson
just respond honestly to whatever NYS Department of Labor sends you and you'll be fine. most employers overthink this stuff
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McKenzie Shade
One thing to keep in mind is timing - make sure you respond quickly to any notices from NYS Department of Labor. They usually give you about 10 days to respond with your side of the story. If you miss that deadline, they might approve the claim by default even if you had good reasons for the termination. Also document the dates of the attendance issues and any progressive discipline you used - that shows you gave them a fair chance to improve before firing them.
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