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My most recent job was a high paying job in New Jersey. I live in NY. In the past 18 months I have had work in both NY and NJ, but best paying was NJ.
Recently I was laid off from NJ job. I called unemployment in NY and they told be I had to do a combined wage claim. I asked if I could file the claim in New Jersey as the state has a higher maximum unemployment benefit. I was told that I had to do a Combined Wage Claim from NY. I filed in NY and have gotten 2 weeks of NY maximum benefit.
I have since done some research on the internet and the Combined Wage Claim seems to say I can file in ANY state where I have wages. I want to transfer my claim, since I was given bad information....
does anyone have any experience with this? I was laid off, I should be able to claim the most I can get....even the max in NJ isn't going to cover my monthly bills but its a lot better that what NY offers.
Well..........Based on my reading - you should file where you are actually living. If you are not living in N.Y. then re-file in N.J. If you are living in N.Y., then you are probably stuck.
good luck.
p.s. FYI - they do not count your last three months!!!! So your base year would end at either Dec or even September, since not only do they not count the last 3 months, they alos work in quarters!
good luck
Quote:
Originally Posted by precisio
My most recent job was a high paying job in New Jersey. I live in NY. In the past 18 months I have had work in both NY and NJ, but best paying was NJ.
Recently I was laid off from NJ job. I called unemployment in NY and they told be I had to do a combined wage claim. I asked if I could file the claim in New Jersey as the state has a higher maximum unemployment benefit. I was told that I had to do a Combined Wage Claim from NY. I filed in NY and have gotten 2 weeks of NY maximum benefit.
I have since done some research on the internet and the Combined Wage Claim seems to say I can file in ANY state where I have wages. I want to transfer my claim, since I was given bad information....
does anyone have any experience with this? I was laid off, I should be able to claim the most I can get....even the max in NJ isn't going to cover my monthly bills but its a lot better that what NY offers.
Combined Wage Claims/NY&NJ -- You DO have a choice
I've been trying to find my own answers as the NYDOL is just impossible to get intouch with. I've tried for 3 days now and can't get past the automated system.
A "paying" state is one where you have wages. In fact the law was changed recently to prevent people from collecting unemployment where they don't have wages....but this is different from my situation.
I have wages in both states, but NJ pays higher. When I asked I was told differently and now con only receive the NYS maximum. This is what I'm trying to change....I think, I'm entitled, but still doing more research.
Local DOL office doesn't "do" unemployment claims but I was told that I should CANCEL the NY claim and re-establish in NJ.
ANYONE with other information????? Really could use the help.
For anyone else who wants to know, I finally got this settled today. It is by no means an easy process. But a person who lives in one state and works in another is entitled to file in the state where they worked (they may file in their home state but it is not mandatory).
However, since unemployment asks about the past 18 months -- if you lived in one state and worked in that same state for some part of the 18 months AND then you worked in another state for another part of the 18 months, you may file ia combined wage claim in either state. Depending on where you file you will be confined by the unemployment rules for the state where you filed.
I live in NY and have worked in NY in the past 18 months. I also have worked in NJ for a greater portion of the 18 months. Originally NY told me I had to file in my home state, but THIS IS NOT TRUE. I had to cancel my NY claim and file a claim with NJ in order to get New Jersey's higher unemployment benefit rate ($584/week). This was extremely difficult as it is almost impossible to get a live person at either state DOL office.
So I've filed my claim in NJ. The hiccup is that while NJ doesn't have a 1 week waiting period like NY, they are not so good apparently at Combined Wage Claims, so I will have an appointment in APRIL to discuss my claim with someone, before they issue a single check. Once that appointment is done, NJ will send me the past unemployment checks until the April date in a lump sum. But no income now. Hhhmph!
Well, I understand your necessity to answer your combined wage question, I wonder, how much "more" will new jersey give you than new york gives you. Right now I get approx. 1000 bi weekly. So, I donl think any state will give me much more, so WHY the hassell?/ hmmm
I qualify for the maximum in both states. On a weekly basis NY offers $405 max, NJ $584. To me that is a substantial difference! Since its clear to me I'm going to be eating up any meager savings I have and have to pay for health insurance, the difference does turn out to be a lot to me.
I'm really hoping that I won't need unemployment for more than a few weeks, but I'm in Finance IT and it looks really bleak. So I have to do some long term strategizing if I need unemployment for longer. An extra $200 a week would really be worth waiting for if it turns out I need it for longer than a few weeks.
I am about to go through the EXACT same scenario as you described. For the past 18 months I worked in NJ for part of the time and NY for the other part. I reside in NY. Any advice on navigating this situation would be greatly appreciated. Who should I call? Should I just file online and see what happens?
I am about to go through the EXACT same scenario as you described. For the past 18 months I worked in NJ for part of the time and NY for the other part. I reside in NY. Any advice on navigating this situation would be greatly appreciated. Who should I call? Should I just file online and see what happens?
Combined Wage Claimaints are better off filing on the telephone since when you file on-line they make you call after that process anyway. The process takes a long time. The initial call (when you actually get through) only takes about 10 minutes. But then you are told to wait six weeks while they process your claim.
Make sure you have all the information availble when you call including an HR contact name and telephone number at each employer, company's NJ state Employer ID, W2 forms with annualized income for each employer, this will help the process go much more smoothly.
You will wind up however waiting 4-6 weeks while they "process" your unemployment. At that time they will send you all of what they owe you (4-6 weeks at one time) and then you will file every two weeks and get two weeks of unemployment at a time for the duration.
You should call the office closest to where you worked. I wound up calling Trenton and they gave me these numbers to try....732-761-2029, 609-292-7162, 201-601-4102, 888-795-6672, 201-601-4110 (this was the # I finally got someone on after waiting on hold for half an hour)
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