NYC unemployment filter: Switching to part-time

April 15, 2020 10:44 AM

Can anyone help me, a complete ignoramus, navigate this unemployment dilemma?

I’ll try to keep this brief and not too confusing! I’ve been made part-time and uninsured at my place of work. I was supposed to start a new job right before the Corona shit hit the fan, and that is now indefinitely on hold. I had been replaced relatively quickly at my old job, but my boss took pity on me and agreed to keep me on part-time through the end of April and possibly beyond.

My boss also agreed to pay for my insurance through April, but I’m going to have to start paying for a rather expensive plan myself starting in May. So, like many people right now, my costs are going up and my income is going down.

I would very much like to stay employed at my current job in some capacity for as long as possible, because I like my job (even if I was supposed to be leaving to work somewhere else) and I feel like it is better than being totally out of work. My field is pretty competitive and niche, and if this other job doesn’t pan out after the crisis it might take a long time to find something else.

My question is mostly this: will NYS allow me to file for unemployment if my hours are being reduced? The website says that you are not eligible for benefits if you make $500 or more a week, is this before taxes? If it is before taxes, then I wouldn’t qualify for any benefits, though I suppose I could reduce my hours and monthly pay if that were the case. I just want to keep being able to do my job (for now) and getting some unemployment that will make this possible. Important: My boss is completely on board with my filing and claiming whatever I can, he know I am looking into this.

posted by cakelite to Work & Money (3 answers total)

Best answer: Unless a skilled labor lawyer or union rep drops by this post, in which case I defer to them: just apply, answering honestly. I'm pretty sure the $504/week is pretax (because the benefit itself is taxable). But I can think of several weird wrinkles to your situation, and I can't even work out from a quick look at the ordinary public-facing documents whether someone who works part-time and qualifies for any UC also gets the PUA $600/week top-off or not. (In that case, depending on how much your current paycheck is, it might be to your benefit to "have your work cut" to just enough to bring you under the $504/week max.) There's no penalty for applying and being turned down, as long as your answers are truthful. You're clearly not filing a frivolous time-wasting application, so there's no ethical issue here, either.
posted by praemunire at 11:57 AM on April 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

Disclaimers: Not A Lawyer, Not In NYS

OTOH, I was on Ohio unemployment for a couple of months in early 2019, and am currently on it (thanks, COVID-19!), and the NYS setup doesn't look too different from the Ohio UI situation.

New York Unemployment FAQ

So how it works, normally, is your boss says, "Sorry, cakelite, I got no work for you for a couple weeks because Reasons, I don't wanna pay your full wages, go claim unemployment." Assuming you are a W2 employee, your company has been paying into a state-run unemployment insurance fund.

You go ahead and register for unemployment benefits. The state has an annoyingly complicated formula plus some weekly pay limits that it uses to figure out how much weekly unemployment in dollars you "qualify" for. Then, over the next 52 weeks (1 year from your initial registration), you can collect some/all of that money on a weekly basis if you are not working full time for that employer in any given week. Up to a certain limit of number of weeks and/or total dollar amount in benefits paid out.

EVERY WEEK you are unemployed or part-time employed, you go to the website and file a claim (New York seems to call it a "certification") for the week.

(hang on, this is all relevant)

will NYS allow me to file for unemployment if my hours are being reduced?

Yes. From the FAQ:

Q: Can I file a claim if I lost my full-time work, but still work part-time?

A: Yes, if you work less than four days in a week and earn $504 or less, you may receive partial benefits. When you file your UI claim:

You will be asked to enter the date of your last day worked. Enter the last day you physically reported to work, regardless of whether this was your part-time or full-time work.

You will also be asked to enter information about your last or most recent employer. The last or most recent employer is where you most recently reported to work, regardless of whether this was your part-time or full-time employer. If it was your part-time employer, and you will continue to work part-time, enter "lack of work" as the reason for separation.

The website says that you are not eligible for benefits if you make $500 or more a week, is this before taxes?

One section of that FAQ refers to it a "gross pay", which yes is before taxes (or other withholdings, like your share of health insurance.)

NOTE: the FAQ says "The current maximum weekly benefit rate is $504." This DOESN'T mean that if you normally earn over $504 gross per week you don't qualify AT ALL - as long as you legit worked for an employer that paid into UI you can claim unemployment, not matter how much you normally make.

The "not eligible for benefits" part means that if you continue to work part-time or sporadically, the state will reduce your benefit amount by another complicated formula, and if in any given week you earn (gross, pre-tax) over $504, you should not bother filing a claim for that week, because your benefits will be dropped down to $0.

Q: Can I estimate my weekly Unemployment Insurance benefit amount?

A: Yes, you can use the benefit rate calculator on our website. Please note that the tool gives an estimate only. It does not guarantee that you will be eligible for benefits or a specific amount of benefits. You must file an Unemployment Insurance claim to find our if you are eligible and learn your actual benefit amount.

I can't even work out from a quick look at the ordinary public-facing documents whether someone who works part-time and qualifies for any UC also gets the PUA $600/week top-off or not.

Agreed, this is really unclear.

In conclusion: Yes, you can get some unemployment if you go from full to part time. Use the calculator to figure out what your benefits might be under full unemployment, use some of the FAQ info to try to figure out what sort of part time work hours & pay scale you might want to try to figure out with your boss that doesn't eliminate all of your unemployment benefits.

Keep in mind that you should definitely get that additional $600 if you are fully unemployed - it may actually work out to your financial advantage to not work at all.

ALSO, keep in mind that state unemployment systems are SWAMPED - it may take weeks for your claims to be processed and money to start showing up in your bank account. Budget accordingly.
posted by soundguy99 at 2:00 PM on April 15, 2020

I agree with soundguy, when I worked part time I didn’t claim those weeks, but the office (less busy times, Great Recession) called me to check my hours and paid me partially for those weeks.
posted by tilde at 2:47 PM on April 15, 2020