NYS Department of Labor unemployment system - how the federal unemployment tax act affects my benefits?
I'm trying to understand how my unemployment benefits work and keep seeing references to something called the federal unemployment tax act. Does this affect my NYS Department of Labor claim or weekly payments? I've been collecting UI for about 6 weeks now and want to make sure I understand where the funding comes from. My employer mentioned they pay into some federal system but I'm confused about how this connects to my state benefits through NYS Department of Labor. Can anyone explain what this federal unemployment tax act accomplished and if it impacts my claim status or benefit amount?
10 comments
Join the conversation
Nia Wilson
The federal unemployment tax act (FUTA) is what created the framework for all state unemployment programs including NYS Department of Labor. Basically it requires employers to pay federal unemployment taxes which fund the administrative costs of state UI programs and provide loans to states when their trust funds run low. Your actual weekly benefit amount is determined by New York State rules, but the federal system makes it possible for states to operate unemployment programs at all.
0 coins
Luca Ferrari
•So the federal unemployment tax act doesn't change my benefit amount but it's what allows NYS Department of Labor to pay benefits in the first place? That makes more sense.
0 coins
Mateo Martinez
yeah my employer told me they pay both state and federal unemployment taxes when i got laid off last year, the federal part goes to help fund the whole system
0 coins
Aisha Hussain
The federal unemployment tax act accomplished several key things: 1) Created a uniform system across all states, 2) Established employer tax requirements to fund unemployment insurance, 3) Set up the federal-state partnership where feds handle oversight and states handle claims processing like NYS Department of Labor does. It also provides emergency funding during recessions when state trust funds get depleted. Without FUTA, there wouldn't be unemployment benefits at all.
0 coins
Ethan Clark
•This is really helpful! I had no idea there was this whole federal framework behind my NYS Department of Labor claim.
0 coins
StarStrider
Wait I'm confused, so is my unemployment check coming from federal or state money? I thought NYS Department of Labor was paying me from New York taxes?
0 coins
Nia Wilson
•Your weekly benefits come from New York's unemployment trust fund, which is funded by state unemployment taxes paid by employers. The federal unemployment tax act just created the legal framework and provides backup funding if needed.
0 coins
Yuki Sato
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about your benefits, I used a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have this whole system for navigating the phone queues - there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI and their site is claimyr.com. Saved me hours of calling and getting hung up on.
0 coins
Luca Ferrari
•Thanks for the tip! I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for days with questions about my claim.
0 coins
Carmen Ruiz
the whole unemployment system is such a mess, doesnt matter what federal unemployment tax act accomplished if you cant even get your benefits processed correctly by NYS Department of Labor
0 coins