Why don't employers want to pay unemployment - fighting my claim with NYS Department of Labor
My former employer is fighting my unemployment claim with NYS Department of Labor and I don't understand why. I was laid off due to budget cuts after 3 years of good performance reviews. Now they're saying I was terminated for misconduct which is completely false. The adjudication has been going on for 2 weeks and I'm stressed about my bills. Why would a company fight a legitimate unemployment claim? Don't they have to pay into the system anyway?
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William Rivera
Employers pay unemployment taxes based on their experience rating - basically how many former employees have collected benefits. The more claims against them, the higher their tax rate goes up. So they have a financial incentive to fight claims even legitimate ones. It's frustrating but very common. Make sure you have documentation of your layoff and performance reviews for the adjudication process.
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Kayla Jacobson
•That makes sense but seems so unfair. I have my last performance review from 6 months ago that was all positive ratings. Should I submit that to NYS Department of Labor?
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Grace Lee
same thing happened to me last year!! my employer tried to say I quit when I was clearly laid off. took 3 weeks to resolve but I eventually got approved. the adjudication process is nerve wracking but hang in there
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Kayla Jacobson
•How did you prove you were laid off? I have the layoff notice but it's just verbal - nothing in writing unfortunately.
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Mia Roberts
Document everything! Get any witnesses who can verify you were laid off, not fired for misconduct. Email yourself a detailed timeline of events while it's fresh in your memory. The burden of proof is on the employer to show misconduct, but you want to be prepared. Also keep filing your weekly claims even during adjudication - if you're approved you'll get backpay.
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The Boss
•This is good advice. I had a similar situation and documenting everything helped me win my appeal when the initial decision went against me.
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Evan Kalinowski
I was having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to check on my adjudication status - kept getting busy signals for hours. Found 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 showing how it works. Might be worth checking out if you need to speak with someone about your case.
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Victoria Charity
•Never heard of that service before. Did they actually help you get through? The phone system is impossible.
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Evan Kalinowski
•Yeah it worked for me. Got connected within like 30 minutes instead of calling all day. Agent was able to give me an update on my adjudication timeline.
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Jasmine Quinn
Ugh the whole system is designed to screw over workers. Companies pay pennies into unemployment compared to what they save by fighting legitimate claims. Even if they lose the fight they've delayed your benefits for weeks. It's all about protecting corporate profits over helping people who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
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Grace Lee
•so true! and meanwhile we're struggling to pay rent while they play these games
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Emma Olsen
I went through something similar and it's so stressful! One thing that helped me was requesting a phone hearing instead of just submitting documents - it gave me a chance to tell my side of the story directly to the adjudicator. Also, if you have any coworkers who were laid off at the same time or can verify it was budget cuts, their statements could really strengthen your case. The system is definitely frustrating but don't give up - most legitimate claims do get approved eventually.
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