NYS Department of Labor - which employer is responsible for unemployment benefits when I had multiple jobs?
I'm really confused about how unemployment benefits work when you've had multiple employers. I worked two part-time jobs this year - one retail position from January to August, and another office job from March until I got laid off in December. Now I'm filing for unemployment but I don't understand which employer is responsible for my benefits? Does NYS Department of Labor look at my most recent employer or do they combine earnings from both jobs? I'm worried I won't qualify because neither job by itself paid very much but together they were decent income.
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Ravi Sharma
NYS Department of Labor doesn't work that way - individual employers aren't 'responsible' for your unemployment benefits. All covered employers in NY pay unemployment insurance taxes into a state fund, and that's where your benefits come from. Your benefit amount is calculated based on your total wages from ALL employers during your base period, not just one specific employer.
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Isabella Ferreira
•Oh wow, I had no idea! So it doesn't matter which employer I list as my 'last employer' on the application?
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NebulaNomad
The person above is correct. NYS Department of Labor uses your wage history from all employers during your base period (usually the first 4 of the last 5 completed quarters). Your weekly benefit amount gets calculated using a formula based on your highest quarter earnings. Make sure to report ALL your employers when you file - the system will automatically pull your wage records from each one.
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Freya Thomsen
•This is exactly right. I had three different jobs last year and was worried about the same thing, but UI pulled all my wages automatically.
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Omar Fawaz
wait so if i worked for walmart and then target, walmart doesn't have to pay my unemployment?? that doesn't make sense to me
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Ravi Sharma
•Right, neither Walmart nor Target pays your individual claim. They both pay unemployment taxes to NYS Department of Labor based on their payroll, and those taxes fund the entire unemployment system for all eligible workers.
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Chloe Martin
I struggled with getting through to NYS Department of Labor to clarify this exact question when I filed last year. If you're having trouble reaching them by phone, I ended up using this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get connected to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Made the whole process much less stressful when I could actually talk to someone who explained how the multi-employer situation works.
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Isabella Ferreira
•Thanks for the suggestion! I've been trying to call for days but keep getting the busy signal.
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Diego Rojas
Just want to add that having multiple employers might actually help your benefit calculation since NYS Department of Labor looks at your total earnings. As long as you meet the minimum wage requirements during your base period, you should be fine. The main thing is making sure you were separated from your last job for a qualifying reason.
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