Who pays unemployment when you get fired from your job in NY?
Just got terminated yesterday from my retail job and I'm totally confused about how unemployment benefits work. Do I pay for it myself or does my former employer cover it? I heard different things from coworkers - some said the company pays, others said it comes from taxes we already paid. I need to file my claim with NYS Department of Labor but want to understand who's actually funding these benefits before I start the process. Can anyone explain how this works?
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Nia Watson
Your unemployment benefits are funded through payroll taxes that employers pay - you don't pay anything directly. Every employer in NY pays into the unemployment insurance fund through quarterly taxes to NYS Department of Labor. When you get fired (as long as it wasn't for misconduct), you're eligible to collect benefits from that fund. The money doesn't come directly from your specific employer, it's pooled from all NY employers.
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Micah Trail
•That makes sense! So my old boss isn't personally paying my benefits then? I was worried it might create bad blood if I filed.
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Alberto Souchard
yep the employer pays into it but ur benefits dont directly cost them extra money when u file, its already been paid into the system
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Katherine Shultz
To be more specific, employers pay both federal (FUTA) and state unemployment taxes. In New York, the state unemployment tax rate varies by employer based on their experience rating - companies with more former employees who collected benefits pay higher rates. But like others said, when you file your claim the money comes from the pooled fund, not directly from your employer's bank account.
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Marcus Marsh
•Wait so if more people from a company file for unemployment, that company has to pay higher taxes later? That seems unfair to the workers.
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Katherine Shultz
•It's designed to encourage employers to avoid unnecessary layoffs and wrongful terminations. But it doesn't affect your right to benefits if you were legitimately fired without cause.
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Hailey O'Leary
I struggled for weeks trying to get through to NYS Department of Labor to ask similar questions about my claim. The phone lines are always busy and their online chat rarely works. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual agent who explained everything. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made the whole process way less stressful.
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Micah Trail
•Thanks for the tip! I've been dreading trying to call them based on what I've heard about wait times.
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Cedric Chung
THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS A JOKE! Employers find every excuse to fight claims even though they're not paying directly. My last company tried to claim I was fired for misconduct when I was just 5 minutes late ONE TIME. Had to go through a whole appeal process with NYS Department of Labor. These companies act like it's coming out of their pocket personally.
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Talia Klein
•same thing happened to my friend, they contested her claim for totally bogus reasons
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Talia Klein
Just file your claim asap dont worry about who pays what. The important thing is getting your benefits started because theres always delays with adjudication and stuff
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Mia Alvarez
Don't let the experience rating system discourage you from filing - it's actually designed to protect workers! The whole point is that employers who frequently lay people off or fire without good cause should pay more into the system. If you were legitimately terminated and not for misconduct, you absolutely deserve those benefits. The money is there specifically for situations like yours. I'd recommend documenting everything about your termination just in case your employer tries to contest the claim, but definitely file as soon as possible since there's usually a waiting period before benefits start.
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Amina Diallo
•This is really helpful advice, thank you! I was definitely worried about filing because I didn't want to cause problems for anyone, but you're right that I earned these benefits. I'll make sure to gather all my termination paperwork and file today. Good point about the waiting period too - I can't afford to delay this any longer.
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