Why would an employer deny unemployment benefits with NYS Department of Labor?
My former boss is fighting my unemployment claim and I don't understand why. I got laid off from my warehouse job last month due to budget cuts, or at least that's what they told me. Now my claim is stuck in adjudication and when I called NYS Department of Labor they said my employer is disputing it. What reasons can an employer give to deny someone unemployment? I showed up to work every day and never got written up for anything. This is really stressing me out because I need these benefits to pay rent.
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Benjamin Kim
Employers can contest unemployment claims for several reasons. The most common ones are misconduct (like being fired for poor performance or violating company policy), voluntary resignation instead of being laid off, or not being available for work. Since you mentioned being laid off for budget cuts, they might be claiming you were actually fired for cause or that you quit. You'll need to provide any documentation you have about your termination - emails, termination letter, anything that shows it was a layoff.
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Victoria Stark
•I don't have anything in writing about the layoff. My supervisor just called me into the office and said they had to let me go because of budget issues. Should I have asked for something in writing?
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Samantha Howard
this happened to me too! my old company tried to say i quit when they actually fired me. took forever to get resolved but nys department of labor sided with me in the end. do you remember exactly what your boss said when they let you go?
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Victoria Stark
•They said something like 'we have to make some cuts and unfortunately your position is being eliminated.' I thought that was pretty clear but maybe not?
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Megan D'Acosta
I had to deal with getting through to NYS Department of Labor when my employer contested my claim. The phone lines are impossible - I must have called 200 times before getting through. Then I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you connected to an agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me so much frustration and I was able to get my adjudication issue resolved within a week instead of waiting months.
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Sarah Ali
•Never heard of that but honestly anything is better than trying to call NYS Department of Labor directly. Did they charge you a lot?
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Megan D'Acosta
•They focus on getting you connected rather than charging high fees. Way less stressful than the usual runaround.
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Ryan Vasquez
Unfortunately employers fight unemployment claims all the time because it affects their unemployment tax rate. Even when the termination was legitimate, some companies will contest just to try to save money. It's frustrating but NYS Department of Labor will investigate and make a determination based on the facts. Make sure you respond to any questionnaires they send you and be completely honest about what happened.
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Victoria Stark
•That's so unfair! I already lost my job and now they're trying to take away my benefits too. How long does this adjudication process usually take?
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Avery Saint
ugh this is exactly why I hate the whole unemployment system. Companies can just lie and make your life miserable even after they fire you. My last employer tried to claim I was fired for attendance when I had medical issues they knew about. Fight it hard because they're probably just hoping you'll give up.
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