What are the cons of applying for unemployment with NYS Department of Labor?
I just got laid off from my marketing job and everyone keeps telling me to file for unemployment benefits. But I'm wondering if there are any downsides to applying with NYS Department of Labor that I should know about first? I've heard mixed things from friends and want to understand the full picture before I start the process. Are there any negative consequences or things I should be concerned about?
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Dylan Evans
The main things to consider: you'll need to actively search for work and document it weekly, there might be tax implications since UI benefits are taxable income, and if you have any employment issues they'll investigate during adjudication which can delay payments. Also, if you end up owing money back for any reason, NYS Department of Labor will pursue collection pretty aggressively.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•Thanks for the heads up about the tax thing - I hadn't thought about that. How much do they typically withhold for taxes?
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Sofia Gomez
honestly the job search requirements are annoying. you have to apply to 3 jobs per week and keep detailed records. if you miss logging your searches or don't meet the requirements they can stop your benefits
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StormChaser
•It's actually not that bad once you get into a routine. The job search log on the NYS Department of Labor website is pretty straightforward to use. Just make sure you're applying to jobs you're actually qualified for.
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Dmitry Petrov
One thing that really stressed me out was the waiting period if there are any issues with your claim. Mine went into adjudication for almost 6 weeks because my former employer disputed something. During that time you get ZERO money and no real updates on what's happening.
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Ava Williams
•Oh god, 6 weeks?? That's terrifying. How did you survive financially during that time?
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Dmitry Petrov
•It was rough. Had to borrow money from family and use credit cards. The worst part was not being able to get through to anyone at NYS Department of Labor to find out what was going on. When I finally did get someone on the phone they couldn't tell me much.
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StormChaser
If you're having trouble reaching NYS Department of Labor by phone, there's actually a service called Claimyr that can help you get through to an agent. I found out about it from someone on here and it worked great - you can check it out at claimyr.com. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Really helped when I needed to resolve an issue with my weekly claim.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•Interesting, I've never heard of that before. Did it actually work for you?
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StormChaser
•Yeah, saved me hours of calling and getting busy signals. Was definitely worth it when I was stressed about my claim status.
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Miguel Castro
The system is honestly a nightmare. They make you jump through so many hoops and then act like they're doing you a favor. And don't get me started on the website - it crashes all the time when you're trying to file your weekly claims!
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Zainab Ibrahim
•I feel you on this. The my.ny.gov portal is definitely not the most user-friendly.
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Dylan Evans
To answer your tax question from earlier - you can choose to have 10% federal taxes withheld from your UI payments, but you'll still owe state taxes at the end of the year. Many people don't realize unemployment benefits count as income for tax purposes and get surprised come tax season.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•Good to know, thanks! I think I'll opt for the withholding to avoid a big surprise later.
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