NYS Department of Labor tracking Uber Eats earnings - will unemployment know if i drive for uber eats?
I've been collecting unemployment for about 6 weeks now and things are tight financially. I'm thinking about doing some Uber Eats deliveries on weekends to make ends meet but I'm scared about how this affects my benefits. Will the NYS Department of Labor automatically know if I start driving for Uber Eats? Do I have to report every single delivery or just if I make over a certain amount? I don't want to mess up my claim but I really need the extra income right now.
15 comments
Join the conversation
Nora Bennett
You absolutely MUST report ALL earnings to NYS Department of Labor, even from gig work like Uber Eats. When you file your weekly claim, there's a question about any work performed and wages earned. This includes 1099 income from delivery apps. The state can cross-reference your SSN with various databases, so hiding income is not worth the risk of overpayment demands later.
0 coins
Oscar Murphy
•Thanks for the info. So even if I only make like $50 in a week doing deliveries, I have to report that on my weekly certification?
0 coins
Ryan Andre
I've been doing DoorDash while on unemployment and yes you have to report everything. The good news is you can earn up to 25% of your weekly benefit amount without it affecting your UI payment. So if your weekly benefit is $300, you can earn up to $75 without any reduction. Anything over that gets deducted dollar for dollar from your benefits.
0 coins
Lauren Zeb
•Wait I thought it was different for 1099 work? Don't they calculate it differently than regular W2 wages?
0 coins
Ryan Andre
•No, NYS Department of Labor treats all earnings the same way for the partial benefit calculation. Doesn't matter if it's W2 or 1099 income.
0 coins
Daniel Washington
Just be super careful about this! I got hit with an overpayment notice last year because I didn't report some freelance work properly. Had to pay back $2,100 and it was a nightmare dealing with NYS Department of Labor appeals. The system is really strict about unreported income.
0 coins
Oscar Murphy
•Oh no that sounds terrible. Did you end up having to pay it all back or were you able to appeal successfully?
0 coins
Aurora Lacasse
I had trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor when I had questions about reporting my part-time work earnings. Kept getting busy signals and the online messaging system never got responses. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made the whole process way less stressful than trying to call myself.
0 coins
Anthony Young
•Interesting, never heard of that before. Did it actually work for getting through?
0 coins
Aurora Lacasse
•Yeah it connected me with an agent who explained exactly how to report my gig work income. Much better than spending hours on hold.
0 coins
Charlotte White
honestly the whole system is ridiculous... they make it so confusing about what to report and when. i've been doing grubhub for months and just estimate my weekly earnings, seems to work fine
0 coins
Nora Bennett
•That's really risky advice. NYS Department of Labor can audit your claim at any time and if they find unreported income you'll owe everything back plus penalties.
0 coins
Admin_Masters
Yeah definitely report it all. I learned this the hard way when I was doing Instacart last year while on benefits.
0 coins
Giovanni Marino
I'm in a similar situation and have been researching this extensively. From what I've found, NYS Department of Labor has access to various databases that can flag unreported income, especially from major platforms like Uber Eats. They receive quarterly wage reports and can cross-reference 1099s issued by gig companies. Even if you think you're flying under the radar, it's not worth the risk. I'd recommend calling them directly to ask about the partial benefit calculation for your specific weekly benefit amount - that way you know exactly how much you can earn before it starts reducing your UI payments. Better to be upfront and keep some benefits than lose everything later.
0 coins
Javier Torres
•This is really helpful advice! I'm just starting to look into gig work while collecting benefits and had no idea about the quarterly wage reports. Do you know if there's a specific timeframe when they typically cross-reference this data? Like, would they catch unreported income within a few weeks or is it more of an annual review thing? Just trying to understand the timeline so I can make sure I'm reporting everything correctly from day one.
0 coins