Lost my job after NY minimum wage increase - does this affect my NYS Department of Labor unemployment claim?
My employer let me go last month right after the latest minimum wage hike went into effect here in NY. They said they couldn't afford to keep all the staff at the new rates. I filed for unemployment but I'm worried this might affect my claim somehow since the job loss was related to the wage increase. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? Will NYS Department of Labor consider this a valid reason for benefits or could they say it's my fault for supporting higher wages? I really need these benefits while I look for new work.
10 comments
Join the conversation
Zainab Yusuf
The reason your employer let you go doesn't matter for your unemployment eligibility as long as you weren't fired for misconduct. Economic reasons like wage cost increases are considered involuntary separations by NYS Department of Labor. You should be fine for benefits as long as you meet the other requirements like being able and available for work.
0 coins
Miguel Alvarez
•That's a relief! I was really worried they'd find some way to deny my claim. Do I need to explain the circumstances in my weekly claims or just leave it as is?
0 coins
Connor O'Reilly
same thing happened to my friend at a restaurant downtown, got laid off when they had to cut hours because of wage costs. her claim went through fine, took about 2 weeks to get approved
0 coins
Yara Khoury
You'll want to make sure your employer reported the separation correctly to NYS Department of Labor. Sometimes they put down the wrong reason code which can delay your claim. If you run into issues reaching someone at the unemployment office about your claim status, I had luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps you get through to actual agents. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call myself.
0 coins
Miguel Alvarez
•How do I check what reason my employer gave? Is that something I can see in my account online?
0 coins
Yara Khoury
•You should be able to see the separation reason in your my.ny.gov account under claim details. If it shows something like 'misconduct' instead of 'lack of work' or 'economic reasons' that's when you'd want to contact NYS Department of Labor to dispute it.
0 coins
Keisha Taylor
This is exactly why minimum wage laws hurt workers!! Companies can't afford to keep everyone so people lose jobs. Then we all pay for it through higher unemployment taxes. The whole system is backwards.
0 coins
Zainab Yusuf
•Let's keep this focused on helping with the unemployment claim rather than debating economic policy. The important thing is that OP gets the benefits they're entitled to.
0 coins
StardustSeeker
I went through something similar when my hours got cut to almost nothing after wage increases. Even if it's not a full layoff, significant hour reductions can qualify you for partial unemployment benefits. Make sure you're reporting any hours you do work when you file your weekly claims.
0 coins
Paolo Marino
wait so if your boss fires everyone because wages went up that's not your fault? i thought unemployment was only if you got fired for no reason
0 coins