NYS Department of Labor - why would an employer appeal unemployment benefits that were approved?

Employers appeal unemployment claims to protect their unemployment insurance tax rate. When employees collect benefits, it can increase the employer's future tax payments to NYS Department of Labor. Even if you were laid off legitimately, they might claim it was a voluntary quit or that you had performance issues. The appeal doesn't automatically stop your benefits - you should continue filing weekly claims unless NYS Department of Labor specifically tells you to stop.

This happened to me last year! My employer appealed even though I had documentation of the layoff. Turns out they were claiming I refused alternative work they offered, which wasn't true. You'll get a hearing notice from NYS Department of Labor where you can present your side. Make sure you have all your paperwork ready - layoff notice, final paycheck stub, any emails about the budget cuts. The good news is legitimate layoffs usually win at appeal hearings.

Employers do this all the time unfortunately. They figure even if they lose the appeal, they've delayed paying higher taxes for a few months. It's really frustrating because it puts stress on people who are already dealing with job loss. Just make sure you keep filing your weekly claims and respond to any requests for information from NYS Department of Labor promptly.

If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor to ask questions about your appeal, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was stuck trying to call for days about my adjudication issue and they got me connected within an hour. Might be worth checking out if you need to talk to someone about your appeal process.

ugh this is so annoying, why do companies have to make everything harder?? i got laid off too and worried my employer might do the same thing. did you get any warning they were going to appeal or did it just show up randomly?

I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago. My employer appealed even though I was clearly laid off due to company restructuring. What I learned is that some companies have policies to automatically appeal all unemployment claims regardless of the circumstances - it's just a business decision to try to keep their tax rates low. The hearing process was actually pretty straightforward once I got through it. The administrative law judge was fair and I had my layoff documentation ready. Just stay organized with your paperwork and don't let it stress you out too much - if you were legitimately laid off, the appeal likely won't succeed.