New York State-Can I qualify for unemployment if I quit my job b/c of late paychecks?

[cubfan_23]

Hi, I am new to this forum. I'm not sure if this is the proper section so if not please kindly guide me to where I should post this.

I have been employed for over a year and a half (since March 2013, it is October 9, 2014 as of this writing), and since then it has been a regular occurrence that paychecks are late. Right now it is particularly bad, if I get paid tomorrow the check will be 3 weeks late. We are supposed to get paid every 2 weeks. So it's a check that I should've received on September 19, plus I should have received another on October 3, and tomorrow we will be halfway through another pay period. Obviously it is very difficult to live like this, and I am becoming convinced that I am wasting my time at a company that will soon go under and I will never see the money that I am owed.

Since the beginning of my employment, most of the time checks are at least 2 or 3 days late, often between 1-2 weeks late. I have all the pay stubs so it would be very easy to demonstrate this to anyone who needs proof.

Another potential difficulty is that I originally lived in Pittsburgh, now the company I work for is right along the NY-PA border, and I have maintained Pittsburgh residency since my move up to NY. My drivers license and all other important information is still at my parents house Pittsburgh as that would make me able to be on their taxes (I am 24). So I don't know if the unemployment I would need to apply for would be NY, PA, or federal. I know pretty much nothing about unemployment, and now my financial situation is rather bad. I need to make a decision whether or not to walk away from my job, I don't want to be taken advantage of even further, but I don't want to somehow screw myself by just walking away. Please advise quickly, and thank you so much in advance.

 

[Ladyback1]

Hi, I am new to this forum. I'm not sure if this is the proper section so if not please kindly guide me to where I should post this.

I have been employed for over a year and a half (since March 2013, it is October 9, 2014 as of this writing), and since then it has been a regular occurrence that paychecks are late. Right now it is particularly bad, if I get paid tomorrow the check will be 3 weeks late. We are supposed to get paid every 2 weeks. So it's a check that I should've received on September 19, plus I should have received another on October 3, and tomorrow we will be halfway through another pay period. Obviously it is very difficult to live like this, and I am becoming convinced that I am wasting my time at a company that will soon go under and I will never see the money that I am owed.

Since the beginning of my employment, most of the time checks are at least 2 or 3 days late, often between 1-2 weeks late. I have all the pay stubs so it would be very easy to demonstrate this to anyone who needs proof.

Another potential difficulty is that I originally lived in Pittsburgh, now the company I work for is right along the NY-PA border, and I have maintained Pittsburgh residency since my move up to NY. My drivers license and all other important information is still at my parents house Pittsburgh as that would make me able to be on their taxes (I am 24). So I don't know if the unemployment I would need to apply for would be NY, PA, or federal. I know pretty much nothing about unemployment, and now my financial situation is rather bad. I need to make a decision whether or not to walk away from my job, I don't want to be taken advantage of even further, but I don't want to somehow screw myself by just walking away. Please advise quickly, and thank you so much in advance.

Have you filed a complaint with your state's Dept of Labor, Wage and Hour division?

 

[commentator]

If you walk away, and file for unemployment benefits, it will be at least four or five weeks before you could get a claim started, and receive any weekly benefits, even if you are approved. If you have walked away, it is much less likely that you would be approved, too. This is why. When you quit a job, you must show, the burden of proof is on you to show that you had a very good valid WORK RELATED reason to quit the job. Late paychecks is a problem, all right. However, they're also going to ask things like, "What did you do to try to resolve the problem before quitting the job?" They'd want to know that you had resolved all reasonable alternatives to quitting.

What I see right now is that you accepted the job, and the paychecks started being late just about right away. You have accepted that up to now. You've of course saved all your paycheck stubs, etc. which is a very smart thing to do anyhow, but those checks have been late later and later as long as you have been there.

If it was going to be such an issue, and it was not okay with you, what have you done about it so far? Have you spoken to them, complained about it, discussed it with your supervisors, and eventually discussed it with the department of Labor wage and hour division? Or have you just continued to work there, and brooded about the late checks, and now you're ready to up and walk out?

If you accept a job, work there a year and a half and then quit because of something that was going on from the first week you worked there, for example, you are not being paid enough for the hours you've worked, and then you quit after a long time of accepting it, you're not AT ALL likely to be approved for benefits.

In this situation you describe, I'd advise you to start looking for another job right now while you are still working. Unemployment benefits, even if you are approved, are not nearly as much money as you could make working, and they are not guaranteed to be approved in this situation, and above all, they will end quickly, in about six months or so, and there's no more there for you, no matter how desperate or poor or broke you may be. So they are not the best solution to your late paychecks situation.

Try to work with the company, complain, talk to people. Keep records of every time you have done this, what you were told, what was promised. Then talk to Wage and Hour, see if they can work with the company. If they have to struggle to make payroll every time, and Wage and Hour gets on their case, they may decide to lay someone off. If they do that, if they terminate or lay you off because they can't keep you working or make the payroll in a timely manner, then you'd be easily approved to draw benefits temporarily while you are looking for other work.

Unemployment insurance is a stop gap insurance supplement paid in by employers on all their employees to the state where they are located when their employees are out of work through no fault of their own.

You did not pay it in, it was collected from your employer on you for the duration of the time you have been working for them.

It does not matter where you file for benefits, in whichever state, the benefits will be paid based on where the employer is located and pays their taxes. If they're in New York, you'll be set up for a New York state unemployment claim, even if you file in Pennsylvania. While you are drawing a claim, or trying to be approved to draw a claim, you will be required to make a work search in the area, so it is a good idea to file the claim in the state or area most convenient to where you live. If you have to go in or report for job searching activities, you don't want to have to travel and can make your work searches close to your place of residence anyway.

If you file a claim, lots of questions will be asked about the reason you left your job. But no questions will be asked about your income. Unemployment insurance is not a needs based poverty program. The downside is that it sets up for exactly so much, and even if approved, when that much money is drawn out, about six months worth usually, it will then end. This is regardless of whether or not you have found another job or are desperate for income. There are no federal extensions in effect right now, so there is no drawing for any long period of time, even if you are approved.

And as I said, approval in this set of circumstances are "iffy." Before you quit, do everything you can to get this solved by working with the company. Be prepared to wait a long time from the time you walk out until you get a decision on whether you are approved for benefits or not. So I strongly suggest that you just proactively begin looking and hopefully you can move right straight to a new job where they do pay you in a more regular manner and will not have to deal with unemployment insurance.