Syracuse, N.Y. -- Most of the more than 700,000 people who are unemployed in New York are required to look for work.
As employers across the nation struggle to rebuild their labor forces, dozens of states have reinstated work-search requirements that were suspended during the pandemic. New York is not one of those states; that’s because work-search requirements in New York have been in effect all along.
But the state this month is reminding the unemployed that the work-search requirements will be enforced. People collecting unemployment are required to look for work three days a week and create a log of those efforts.
While New York did not waive the requirements, they were largely a technicality for the past year when businesses shut down and unemployment hit record highs. At one point, 1.4 million people were out of work. The state could barely process claims, much less check requirements that are rarely enforced in more prosperous times.
That’s different now that the economy is reopening and employers are struggling to fill open jobs.
Last week, the state Department of Labor highlighted the work-search requirements on its social media accounts. “Important: Work search requirements are in effect in New York State. Most New Yorkers are required to search for work while collecting unemployment or pandemic benefits,” the DOL tweeted. It included the requirements below the tweet.
The state Department of Labor is reminding unemployment insurance recipients that they need to be searching for work.
The DOL shared the same information on its Facebook page. On both social media platforms, the posts were met with confusion and frustration. A spokesperson did not respond to request from Syracuse.com to discuss the policy.
Currently, the only people who are not required to search for work while collecting unemployment are people who were laid off because of Covid-19, but told that their employer would rehire them when the economy improved. Everyone else is required to search three days a week and to accept a job if one is offered.
In normal times, the state doesn’t usually check that people are searching for work, said Gregory Dewan, deputy executive director of the Hiscock Legal Aid Society in Syracuse.
It’s possible they are ramping up enforcement in response to complaints from employers that workers are refusing jobs because unemployment currently pays $15 an hour at the lowest, more than the state’s minimum wage of $12.50 an hour.
Employers paying less than unemployment are finding themselves hard-pressed to fill vacancies, Dewan said.
Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, public affairs and the Syracuse City School District. Contact her anytime email | Twitter| cell 315-470-2246.