I will be unemployed as of June 1st, I am a resident of Florida working for a not-for-profit in New York.

by Barbara

(Lake Worth, FL)

For the last 2 years my hours were cut, now my position is being cut….I was employed by a NY State company, I worked out of my FL location. I did not pay unemployment for the last 2 years because I was told I didn’t need to pay to NY, because I didn’t live or work there. I used telecommunications with NY to do my work.
May I receive unemployment benefits from FL?

Hi Barbara,

What do you mean you didn’t pay unemployment? Employers pay unemployment tax.

Where were they paying the unemployment taxes, or were you an independent contractor .. in other words .. self-employed?

Comments for I will be unemployed as of June 1st, I am a resident of Florida working for a not-for-profit in New York.

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May 20, 2009
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Unemployment in Florida for telecommuters working for a New York Employer

by: Anonymous

My employer was told (maybe incorrectly) that I would not qualify for unemployment in NYS, since I was not a NYS resident & didn’t work in the state, or pay taxes to NY….so paying unemployment was stopped about 18 months ago.

Oh Brother!

I do not understand how this case gave the employer a pass on paying unemployment taxes on your wages .. but apparently it did.

I honestly can’t believe this issue of telecommuting and unemployment has not yet been addressed and fixed. The case above happened in 1997. If your employer hasn’t paid any taxes .. this PDF explains the crux of the problem. New York Unemployment Benefits for Out of state Telecommuters

New York seems to be the state that creates the problem. Normally, I’d say file for Florida benefits, but the question now is “who’s going to pay” for the benefits if the employer hasn’t been paying taxes on your wages.

I wish I could be of more help, Florida seems to be your only option, but Florida is going to want to recoup paid benefits from the “liable” state.

I honestly cannot believe I can’t find a more current decision overturning this. The unemployment system is really keeping pace with the changing work environment in America .. eh?

Employer’s have the option of choosing a “home rule” state when they pay taxes. The decision above effectively eliminates an entire group of employees who telecommute from a state other than New York and work for a New York employer. It seems to me if an employer is going to utilize this favorable ruling to their advantage that someone needs to fight in on a different field other than as an “unemployment issue” because according to the USDOL you should be a “Covered” employee.

You might find more current information at NELP

I honestly wish I could be more help .

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