Unemployment and job offers

48 Comments

1. AnonymousJanuary 24,2024 at 3:30PM UTC

   I'm not in NY but can tell you I have been in UI many times in my life and the reality is, how will the state know?
   Even in my last search (spring of 2021) I turned down under-employment opportunities. When filling out your weekly log of who you applied to etc. I just never put the REAL jobs I'm aiming at. For example, I had to list 3 places/week I had applied. Meanwhile, I was applying to dozens of places each week. I always chose to list for the state the 3 jobs I knew I wasn't even close to getting a call for. I did truly apply, but the state didn't need to know about the better prospects. The company you turn down is not going to tattle on you with the state--neither they nor the state have the time or resources to report/investigate that.
   When on UI, I typically don't jump at the 1st job offer unless it is a legit good opportunity with appropriate pay and growth potential. If I'm getting close to UI ending, sure I would take a lesser job and then just keep searching for my next "real" job.
   If you have experience as an accountant, would the state need to know (or really care) if you turned down that job opportunity to work the drive thru at McDonalds?

2. KatJanuary 24,2024 at 3:35PM UTC

   Speak to someone from the state Unemployment office rather than rely on your friend's information. That info might be out of date or there could be exceptions to it so you're not stuck in a job you don't want. However, if you must take the first job offered to you, take it. You can continue your search for something more suitable while earning some income and getting off UI. It's not ideal, but sometimes you have to make the best of limited options. Good luck and hope you can find the best job for you.

3. AnonymousJanuary 24,2024 at 5:25PM UTC

   Unemployment will not know if you were offered a job or not, until you submit that you are taking a job and when it starts so they can stop your benefits. I would double check with someone who knows NY employment law. Obviously the Unemployment Office would like to see you get a job, less they have to pay out. Good luck.

4. AnonymousJanuary 24,2024 at 5:46PM UTC

   I think this may vary by state, but in Ohio...at least when I had to access unemployment 2 years ago, you are required to file a weekly report on job application efforts (required to apply to so many every week), any offers, etc. When I talked to a rep at unemployment, she said that yes, technically, you are required to accept an offer of employment. Of course, you can lie about it and likely get away with it. But why would you? And you could accept the job and keep applying for other positions. Why would you want to stay on unemployment when you could be working - lessening the big open spot in your work history and drawing more of a paycheck that unemployment?

5. AnonymousJanuary 24,2024 at 6:09PM UTC

   I’m in NY and yes… they will know you refused an offer and cut your benefits. It’s a harshness they do and also makes sense. I would accept the job offer and keep looking for your ideal fit. Look at this offer as something for now, to get you off unemployment, get you back on your feet, and get you back in the workforce. Add it to your resume and get through the probational period before you focus further on a new role. Give it at least that 3-6 month period (unless you get an offer from your ideal potential employer). Job hopping isn’t so much frowned upon as large blanks in your resume. It keeps your skills going and maybe you’ll develop a few new ones. You want to give the offer a chance because losing benefits if you need them will be counterproductive altogether. You’re required to put in minimum time at an employer before you can go on benefits again. However, unemployment will more likely extend your benefits if you do work and find yourself unemployed again (if the offer goes south after the probation period - I had a friend hired as a permanent employee, then after he caught up all the back ordered work, they let him go “due to restructuring” and he was able to get back on unemployment). It’s a rollercoaster to deal with but it’s worth it to not forfeit benefits you may need to get back on later for whatever reason.

6. AnonymousJanuary 25,2024 at 1:10AM UTC

   That is sound advice. Thank you!

7. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJanuary 25,2024 at 1:14AM UTC

   I'm curious - how will the State know she has refused a job offer? I'm not in NYS.

8. AnonymousJanuary 26,2024 at 1:23PM UTC

   When filling out unemployment claims online, they confirm any job contacts with claimants after applying, like interviews. So if a job offer was accepted or rejected, they know.

9. misskelleypJanuary 26,2024 at 2:45PM UTC

   It seems like they probably spot check, they can't possibly have the manpower to check every single contact....

10. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 7:13PM UTC

    I just completed 26 weeks claiming unemployment in NYS.
    During the weekly unemployment certification, you are asked six questions. The first question is "During the week ending XX/XX.XXXX, did you refuse any job offers or job referrals". You have the option to answer Yes or No. If the claimant says No (but he/she did in fact decline an offer), UI will never know.

11. misskelleypJanuary 26,2024 at 2:44PM UTC

    How would the state know one refused an offer?

12. AnonymousJanuary 24,2024 at 11:30PM UTC

    I have no doubt I will get flamed for this, but if you are really concerned, you could also ask for some kind of accommodation that you know will cause the company to change their minds or drag out the decision "to see how other interviews turn out." I don't really recommend either since the other posters have suggested just not reporting that particular job as job search activity as that applies in your state.

    Technically, once you do find a job in some states, you don't need to report that you started a job as much as you stop filing the weekly unemployment, and that itself cuts your benefits.

13. Sara TrostJanuary 25,2024 at 1:42PM UTC

    I am not sure about NY laws, but in Ohio if you are on unemployment and are offered a job and you decline it, if the company that offered you the job contacts unemployment and tells them you could lose your unemployment benefits for one week. It doesn't just automatically happen here. There is a process.

14. AnonymousJanuary 26,2024 at 10:54PM UTC

    Why would a company actually contact the state to report that when they could just go on to the next candidate? Whoever does that is an evil jerk you absolutely do NOT want to work with!

15. AnonymousJanuary 25,2024 at 3:21PM UTC

    You need to speak to your local unemployment office.
    Only they can give you the specific rules for your state/city. Each state sets these rules independently. The rules can change at any time.

16. AnonymousJanuary 25,2024 at 5:32PM UTC

    Yes, that is true for NY - as long as it's a reasonable offer that's close to what you were making previously, then you could lose your unemployment for not accepting it.
    I don't know how they'd know, unless you tell them, though (I'm not sure if companies actually report if they made offers or not). If all else fails, you can always take the job and keep looking!

    I had this dilemma last year, and I felt I had to pass on a job that I really wanted because the process was moving too slow. It worked out, but I'm still a little sad about what could have been, lol

17. AnonymousJanuary 26,2024 at 1:14PM UTC

    You might notice this "rule," accept any job offered while you are receiving unemployment benefits, on the state website when you certify your availability for benefits, but the truth is that the government receives no notice when you get a job offer. Only you can say whether an offer is truly a fit for your goals, lifestyle, etc. It is incumbant on you and only you to make an informed and educated choice about the next steps for your work/career. You take care of you!

18. AnonymousJanuary 26,2024 at 1:20PM UTC

    For all the times I've been unemployed, no one has asked for proof of the jobs I applied for or if I received an offer. You only need to tell them once you are working.

19. Colleen HansonJanuary 26,2024 at 2:34PM UTC

    This is risky, however! I had a friend that was collecting unemployment and at one point they did ask for a list of the places he had been applying and they did indeed call the places and check to see if he had submitted an application. They found out that he had been offered a position at one of the companies he applied at and had refused it due to the low pay and they immediately stopped his payments and came back with a notice that he owed them somewhere around $3500.00 (repayment of unemployment collected) for refusing work and subsequently lying about it. While I don't think that it is necessarily commonplace for unemployment to do this, I do believe that it is like a random audit and every so many people get checked. I would hate to be the one person not complying with their rules that ends up getting checked because in my state it is a prosecutable offense. Good Luck!!!

20. Vivian LeeJanuary 26,2024 at 10:44PM UTC

    This would have also happened when I was claiming Employment Insurance.

    Hence becoming handcuffed to accept a surprise offer for a job I was overqualified which paid below the bottom of the salary range requested by the employer. My references advised against negotiating as the salary was clearly stated in the interview. I became a bargain shop find for the employer, who didn’t effectively budget for the role.

21. Lisa Galczynski KahlerJanuary 26,2024 at 1:29PM UTC

    Yep! totally true! And to add insult to injury, the first half of your unemployment you are required to accept any offer up to 90% pay of your last job...2nd half you are required to accept 80% pay of your last job. You are required to keep a detailed log of every job search activity. I was laid off last spring and was on unemployment after my severance package ended. (can't collect both/double dip). It suck, I know! We worked HARD for our experience/title/pay, and it's belittling to be told we have to accept anything below that.

    Good luck!!

22. Valerie RiegerJanuary 26,2024 at 1:40PM UTC

    Unemployment laws vary by state. I would suggest going to your state's unemployment website. You should find the answer to your question there.

23. Cara GardnerJanuary 26,2024 at 1:52PM UTC

    It's a tight market right now, and its highly unlikely a company will make an offer after one interview. You will be several interviews in before that happens. And during that time, you will be assessing IF YOU want to work there.

    If it seems like it is getting closer to where they would make an offer, you can politely bow out as a candidate if it isn't a right fit.

    Ask them as many questions as you can to get a sense of the culture, why the position is open, how long have other employees been at the company. Ask if you can talk with other people in the dept if you haven't already.

    That way you've done your due diligence on whether you want to be there or not. So, if you are given an offer, you know you will like who you are working with. And be sure to negotiate $$!!

24. GirlBossanova934974January 26,2024 at 2:18PM UTC

    What you are saying is correct BUT you have to report it! So what happens if you don't report it? How can the State find out you turned down an offer? Answer: The State cannot find out if you rejected an offer. They can however find out if you take on a job where the employer pays in state income taxes. So YOU be the judge!

25. misskelleypJanuary 26,2024 at 2:41PM UTC

    I don't know about New York, specifically, but usually you don't have to accept a job that is "less" than your prior one (salary, level, etc.). Try poking around on their website to see if you can find out what the actual rules are. Good luck.

26. AnonymousJanuary 26,2024 at 7:23PM UTC

    Not true in NY, it has to be within what is an acceptable range for that job type. For example I was making $150k as a Marketing Manager (essentially what UE decided was the closest equivalent job title) and the expected range they have is around $70-85k - so I would have to accept jobs within any range over $70-85k if offered or lose benefits.

    Best advice in NY, don’t interview for jobs that don’t 100% meet your expectations and needs. While I don’t expect them to find out if you turned down a job offer - I think they could and why even bother with it all. Only worth interviewing for jobs that you would want to take if offered in my opinion.

27. misskelleypJanuary 27,2024 at 6:27PM UTC

    wowsers.... Apparently WA State is a bit more lax.

28. Vivian LeeJanuary 26,2024 at 3:05PM UTC

    Yes, this is also the case in Canada.

    Years ago, I had to accept a survival job which came as a surprise offer. Despite leaving the interview knowing I was overqualified and when the employer declared they couldn’t meet the bottom of my salary range, I was still given the offer with the low salary which my references advised not to negotiate. While I was also interviewing with others, they told me to accept the offer as they weren’t ready for the next steps. Otherwise I would lose Employment Insurance benefits.

    This survival job was a big pay cut for the same job function I did many years ago. To bridge the income gap, I worked up to 7 days a week with several side hustles on top of this job.

29. Amy Carissa OliverJanuary 26,2024 at 4:25PM UTC

    In NY, you are bound to accept an offer that is a reasonable fit for your skills and also pays the prevailing common wage for the locality. So let's say you live in Schenectady and you're a PR professional and you make $156,000 per year, but the prevailing wage for the job is about $110,000. If you were offered that position and turned it down, you could indeed, lose your unemployment benefits. But let's say that prevailing wage is $155,000 but they only offer you $110,000. Then you could turn it down and suffer no consequences. You would have to prove it, though.

    So I suggest making sure you apply first to jobs that have a pay range you could live with and then learn about the companies with as many questions as possible in the first interview. Also get on LinkedIn and see if you have connections or near connections at the companies at which you're applying, and then reach out and talk to people. I never consider working for an organization without talking to several people who work there that I find and reach out to on my own. I also try to get ahold of the person I'm "replacing." Finding work is a full time job in and of itself, but it's worth this effort, especially when you have UE benefits to consider.

30. maria roseJanuary 26,2024 at 9:10PM UTC

    In continuing this conversation concerning what you can and do about finding a job while receiving NYS unemployment --which by the way has a very extended time that one can receive the benefits and it is one of the highest unemployment amounts received in the entire US-- you are required to report weekly on your job searches and results and will be required to explain any reasons for declining any potential job offers if you note it on your report. The basic requirement they expect to do in job searching is to take the job that reasonably will pay you an adequate paycheck Because you will not accept a salary in a lower range and will require a detailed explanation especially if you keep getting job offers and are repeatedly refusing the job offers. But that's also part of your job search, you need to choose between getting a lower paycheck if you get other conditions. You are the one making those weekly reports to the unemployment office.

31. Krystin MorganJanuary 26,2024 at 5:11PM UTC

    Unfortunately, this is true in most states. While you can "get away with" turning down offers that are vastly outside the expected pay or would result in a commute that's a hardship, those things are hard to prove and what you might find to be too long of a commute/too little pay aren't necessarily what the government will agree with.

    The biggest piece of advice I have is that if you interview and are sure you don't want the job afterwards. withdraw from the process. Don't wait to receive an offer unless you're open to accepting it.

32. AnonymousJanuary 26,2024 at 5:52PM UTC

    Well that is not entirely true. You could negotiate and blow up the offer but an interview is a 2 way street and if you don't want the job because of money or other be sure that you are not sharing that with the UI board...

33. AnonymousJanuary 26,2024 at 11:15PM UTC

    This is true.
    I was offered a job years ago and I had to turn it down as at that time I did not have child care. I had a newborn at home and a toddler. Needless to say, when the unemployment office found out about it, I was penalized for 3 years.
    I ended up finding stable daycare and found a decent job!
    those were difficult days!!

34. misskelleypJanuary 27,2024 at 6:25PM UTC

    Wow, that is harsh.

35. AnonymousJanuary 27,2024 at 8:01PM UTC

    The unemployment office finding out and subsequently penalizing you for turning down a job is so interesting to me. Do you know/Can you tell me how the job offer was reported to them in the first place? It feels Big Brother-y to think the government would keep that level of tabs on individual benefits collectors.

36. AnonymousJanuary 27,2024 at 8:05PM UTC

    If faced with the prospect of committing to a job I decided I did not want or collecting unemployment, I think I would rather just stop verifying and collecting benefits at that point. Not worth it to pledge my career to something that isn’t a fit, ever.

37. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 6:38PM UTC

    That is odd.
    There is really no way for the Unemployment Office to find out you declined a job offer, unless you told them or perhaps if the job was offered by entity connected to the Unemployment Office. I just completed 26 weeks of unemployment in New York. I had two phone meetings that lasted about one hour each. The first meeting was more of an introductory one to explain what is expected of me. In the second and final meeting I was asked about my job search activity, but never requested to provide anything in writing. Nevertheless, I always retain records of my job search activities.

38. Jessica HoriJanuary 27,2024 at 2:23PM UTC

    Don’t apply for jobs beneath your pay rate or that you are not comfortable accepting.

    You can check on glassdoor or Indeed to see what the average salary for that position might be and what you might be able to get away with in negotiation.

    Or you can check official government wage board for certain positions. bls.gov They have the rate for your area and the national rate. At least having some official backing can lock them out of low balling.

    I’m glad I looked at that before my interview because when they were asking me, I was like well according to XYZ the hourly rate for similar position is $x to y, so I probably won’t go below that. And luckily the position was right at the high end.

    Getting a job still has a higher salary than the unemployment benefits. Just keep looking for something else you really want to do and leave if that’s not what you want to do . I feel like 30 to 90 day evaluation can go both ways.

    You can definitely withdraw your application as soon as you learn that’s not going to be the right fit for you.

39. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 1:46PM UTC

    Of course not. How would the state ever know you declined a job?

40. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 1:58PM UTC

    yes, this is true. in our state, you have to demonstrate that you've applied for 3 'reasonable' jobs per week. And each week, you have to report if you've been offered a position (or not). Our daughter was laid off in August from her full time job; her first child was born in September. While she was recovering from childbirth, her unemployment checks stopped! She submitted a letter from her doctor (when the baby was 3 weeks old) and the unemployment office would not accept it! They kept her checks until she started applying again-- which she had to do immediately after the baby was born!!!. They do audits periodically, and you also have to log in and answer questions each week about the status of your applications. Each state is different but all have variations of this. So apply wisely for a reasonable position. Godspeed.

41. Evelyn CruzJanuary 28,2024 at 2:10PM UTC

    You do not have to accept a job that you don't want. The way around this is to advise the interviewer that after learning more about the role it does not match your current business and personal goals. Thank them for reaching out and their time ask them yo kerp you in mind fir other roles and keep it moving. You will not receive an offer because you were clear you are no longer interested. I hope this helps.

42. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 2:34PM UTC

    This does not help the OP understand the impact on her unemployment benefits.

43. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 2:14PM UTC

    NY is tough when it come from unemployment. Another thing they will penalize you for is leaving the state (this happened to me when I told them I went away for the weekend and the penalty was either 50 or 75% of an already low paymentT. What I will say is that companies don’t report on who has not accepted a job

44. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 7:07PM UTC

    Yes technically you have to be available to work every day that you claim, so if you wouldn’t go in because you are sick or away you aren’t “available.” It does seem weird that they penalized you for a weekend though.

    When I collected unemployment in New York a few years ago, the work search log I had to fill out each week included the contact information for each application so the state definitely could audit to see if a job was offered. So OP doesn’t HAVE to report it but there’s definitely a slim possibility of getting found out.

45. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 3:22PM UTC

    Either things are really different in Minnesota or things have changed drastically in the last five years. I just had to sign up with my local workforce center, take a couple classes with them and promise in good faith that I would be looking for work. I was never asked to discuss where I had applied and interviewed.

46. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 8:11PM UTC

    I’m in Florida and it is the same way. it is any “reasonable offer of employment”, so I’m not sure what that means but it is really messed up they expect people to take lower paying jobs they would be miserable at to continue to collect unemployment.

    honestly, though, unless you put that employer that you turned the job down from on your list of jobs you applied for, there’s not really any way for them to know. I did actually have this issue almost 20 years ago, I had made claims because I was working at a temp agency and the temp agency ended up screwing me over and told unemployment that I turn down a job offer from them because I was going on vacation. But I was able to call someone and get it straightened out because that was totally not true (the job offer was over an hour from my home) that was also back when you could actually reach someone by phone for unemployment which is literally impossible now. But again the only reason they knew this is because the employer was one I had to claim because I was actually making money for them some weeks so that is probably how they were able to contact them. I’m at the point where if I do an interview and I don’t feel the job is going to be a good fit for me I either just skip the second interview or tell the person who interviewed me that I didn’t think it would be a good fit because of my background or some thing. unemployment is so backed up now I’m not sure what they’re policy is and how often they follow up with companies that you said you applied for, if it’s just like an audit they do etc

47. Kristine PhillipsJanuary 28,2024 at 9:17PM UTC

    Don't accept offer until you think about it.

48. AnonymousJanuary 28,2024 at 11:38PM UTC

    There is literally no way they will know that you declined an offer. Don't accept something unless it meets your needs.