NYS Department of Labor claim approved but hours cut to 8/week - still getting benefits?
My employer cut my hours from 40 to just 8 hours per week but kept me on payroll. I'm basically doing busy work - filing papers and organizing supplies that don't really need organizing. NYS Department of Labor approved my partial unemployment claim and I'm getting benefits, but I'm wondering if this counts as disguised unemployment? My boss says they're keeping me employed to 'help with my benefits' but there's honestly no real work for me to do. Should I be concerned about reporting these minimal hours on my weekly claims? I don't want to get in trouble for overpayments later.
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Madeline Blaze
You're dealing with what economists call 'disguised unemployment' but from NYS Department of Labor's perspective, you're partially employed. As long as you're reporting your actual hours worked (8/week) and wages earned on your weekly claims, you're fine. The key is honest reporting - doesn't matter if the work feels meaningless. Your employer is actually being helpful by keeping you on payroll since partial UI benefits can bridge the gap.
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Tyler Lefleur
•Thanks for explaining that! I was worried I was somehow cheating the system. So I just keep reporting the 8 hours honestly each week?
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Max Knight
Had this exact situation last year when my restaurant kept me on for 6 hours/week just to clean already-clean equipment. NYS Department of Labor doesn't care if your job is 'real' or not - they care about hours and wages. Keep documenting everything and reporting accurately. Also keep looking for other work since that's still required for partial benefits.
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Emma Swift
•Wait, you still have to do job searches even with partial unemployment? I thought if you were still employed you didn't have to...
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Max Knight
•Yes! Partial UI still requires job searches unless you're on standby status, which is different. You need to log your search activities.
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Isabella Tucker
Ugh the whole system is so frustrating when employers do this kind of thing. At least you're getting something though. I've been trying to reach NYS Department of Labor for weeks about my adjudication and can't get through. The phone lines are always busy and they never respond to messages through the online portal.
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Jayden Hill
•Have you tried Claimyr? I used claimyr.com last month when I couldn't reach anyone about my disqualification. They actually got me connected to a live agent within a day. There's a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Saved me weeks of calling and getting hung up on.
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LordCommander
sounds like ur employer is being cool about it tbh... mine just laid everyone off completely
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Lucy Lam
This reminds me of when my cousin worked at a store that kept her on just to stand around during slow seasons. She called it 'fake work' but hey, she got partial benefits for months while looking for something better. The disguised unemployment thing is more about economic theory - in practice, if you're getting paid for hours, report those hours. NYS Department of Labor has seen it all.
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