What does unemployment cost the employer when filing NYS Department of Labor claim?
My boss is making it seem like me filing for unemployment is going to bankrupt the company or something. He keeps saying how much it's going to 'cost him' when I submit my NYS Department of Labor claim. Is this actually true? I got laid off due to budget cuts but now he's acting like I'm personally attacking him by filing. Can someone explain what the actual costs are to employers when someone files for unemployment benefits? I don't want to feel guilty about something I'm entitled to.
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GalacticGladiator
Your employer pays into the NYS Department of Labor unemployment insurance system through quarterly taxes based on their payroll. When you file a claim, it doesn't directly cost them money upfront - they've already been paying into the system. However, if they have multiple claims over time, their tax rate can increase in future years. The rate ranges from about 0.6% to 10.7% of wages depending on their claims history. Your single claim won't bankrupt anyone.
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Aisha Hussain
•Thank you! That makes me feel so much better. He was acting like I was personally taking money out of his pocket.
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Ethan Brown
Employers love to guilt trip people about this but honestly they budget for unemployment taxes as part of doing business. It's like any other business expense. If he's worried about costs maybe he shouldn't have laid you off in the first place! File your claim and don't feel bad about it.
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Yuki Yamamoto
•Exactly this. I had a boss try the same guilt trip on me. It's manipulation tactics to try to get you not to file.
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Carmen Ruiz
The NYS Department of Labor uses an experience rating system. Basically employers with more claims pay higher rates over time. But that's spread out over years and designed to encourage good employment practices. One claim from a legitimate layoff isn't going to dramatically impact their rates. Your boss is probably just stressed about the business situation and taking it out on you unfairly.
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Andre Lefebvre
I was in a similar situation last year and felt so guilty about filing. Turned out my employer had been dealing with the NYS Department of Labor for years on various claims and my case was nothing special. If you're having trouble getting through to check on your claim status or need to speak with someone about the process, I used claimyr.com recently and it actually got me connected to an agent pretty quickly. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.
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Aisha Hussain
•Thanks for the suggestion! I haven't had any issues with my claim yet but good to know there are options if I do.
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Zoe Dimitriou
just file your claim already. employers pay unemployment insurance for a reason. if they didnt want to deal with claims they shouldnt hire people. its not your problem what it costs them
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QuantumQuest
I think the psychological impact on employers is often worse than the financial impact. They see it as a mark against their business even though layoffs happen for legitimate reasons. The actual dollar cost to them is usually pretty minimal compared to other business expenses.
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