I know it is scary and confusing to get a letter that essentially threatens you about having to pay back a LOT of money. But don't freak out! For the large majority of people, this is easily handled without any issue.
Q. Why do I have to send this info?
A. It is a federal requirement enacted on December 27, 2020. The purpose is to quickly weed out fraudulent clams while making it easy for most people to comply. You have to send even if you sent when you filed your claim to confirm it is indeed you who is in control of this claim.
Q. What should I send?
A. In a nutshell, you need to prove you worked in your base period, which is the calendar your before you filed your claim. For most people, that is 2019, so I will address that first.
Best docs to send:
The best docs:
This covers another 3% or so of claims. Then there is a handful of others that fall into some other odd categories - Peace Corps volunteers, Doctors Without Borders, etc.
So, what if you don't have anything? First, why don't you? Be honest - did you actually qualify? Did you think you qualified but now know you didn't? Did you work but not properly file your taxes? Do you file a fraudulent claim?
If you legitimately believed you qualified but have not worked in years, then you are not eligible for the benefits, but you may be eligible for the waiver if you did not lie to get your claim.
If you worked, but did not properly file your 2019 taxes, then you need to fix that. File your 1040 with Sched C or file an amendment to what you already filed. When you have your 1040 filed, send it to the IRS and keep the tracking info for your records, then submit a true and accurate copy of your Schedule C or SE to NYDOL.
If you simply lied to get money, count on paying back at least anything received after December 27, 2020. You also should consult a criminal attorney.
So, why doesn't my list match exactly what is one the NYDOL website? Well, mostly it does, but there are simply some things that are nuanced to a degree that even over the past two years when I became a subject matter expert on Pandemic Unemployment, I did not fully get until I started adjudicating cases in a couple different states. I have seen the same types of things get flagged and disqualified over and over. What is often missed is that you are supposed to submit the BEST documentation, not just a random piece off the list.
Not all Proof of Employment is created equal. W-2s and Sched C / SE are basically the best item for most claims. Because anything else begs the question, why don't you have the most basic tax form?? What you must always remember is the list of documents was created in March 2020. At that point, people didn't always have tax forms, etc.
Items like a 2019 Job Offer letter can be sufficient, but really only if it is truly the best document to prove that you could not commence employment in 2020 because of the pandemic. In the LARGE majority of cases where a 2019 Job Offer Letter exists, it is not connected to not being able to work in March 2020. Are there some cases? Of course. But people need to understand that if they send in a job offer letter from Jan 2019 with a start date of July 2019 - that doesn't work. If they have a job offer letter from June 2019 with a start dated of June 2020 (like many law students might have) then THAT makes sense.
But with planned commencement cases, there is a reason they usually get denied and have to go to hearing, because they need someone like me LOL to ask the questions and get to the facts. It isn't always a clear cut case, unless it is a Job offer letter with a start date near the beginning of the pandemic with a subsequent rescission.
One last thing, some people will say to send more. It is best to send the BEST document and the most simple one(s). Remember, you are being asked to prove you worked in your base period, not reprove why you applied for PUA in the first place. Though I have heard that the upload link is asking for you to select the reason you applied and upload the best document. So, in cases of planned employment, it is likely prudent to send your offer letter, etc. AND you previous W-2.
Questions?
Q. Why do I have to send this info?
A. It is a federal requirement enacted on December 27, 2020. The purpose is to quickly weed out fraudulent clams while making it easy for most people to comply. You have to send even if you sent when you filed your claim to confirm it is indeed you who is in control of this claim.
Q. What should I send?
A. In a nutshell, you need to prove you worked in your base period, which is the calendar your before you filed your claim. For most people, that is 2019, so I will address that first.
Best docs to send:
- 2019 W-2
- 2019 Schedule C or SE
- 2019 1099-Misc (if it clearly shows that it is from self-employment and you can't send your Sched C)
- 2020 W-2 and a paystub from before you filed your claim
- 2020 Schedule C or SE and bank deposits or invoices showing income earned before they filed
- 2020 1099-Misc (if it clearly shows that it is from self-employment and you can't send your Sched C) and bank deposits or invoices showing income earned before they filed
The best docs:
- Employment - A letter or affidavit with a bona fide job offer that includes the name of the employer who issued the letter offering employment, the employer’s address and phone number, and the date of the letter offering employment. Then you need to give the reason you could not start (they rescinded the offer - include the proof where possible, the business closed, the industry was shutdown, schools closed and you had to stay home with kids, etc.).
- Self-Employer - Some sort of proof of your plan to become self-employed needs at least one of following documents to substantiate pending self-employment: Business License, State or Federal Employer Identification Numbers, Written Business Plan(s) - The business plan(s) should include the name of your business and the date of the plan, Lease Agreements, Business Bank Account opening documents.
This covers another 3% or so of claims. Then there is a handful of others that fall into some other odd categories - Peace Corps volunteers, Doctors Without Borders, etc.
So, what if you don't have anything? First, why don't you? Be honest - did you actually qualify? Did you think you qualified but now know you didn't? Did you work but not properly file your taxes? Do you file a fraudulent claim?
If you legitimately believed you qualified but have not worked in years, then you are not eligible for the benefits, but you may be eligible for the waiver if you did not lie to get your claim.
If you worked, but did not properly file your 2019 taxes, then you need to fix that. File your 1040 with Sched C or file an amendment to what you already filed. When you have your 1040 filed, send it to the IRS and keep the tracking info for your records, then submit a true and accurate copy of your Schedule C or SE to NYDOL.
If you simply lied to get money, count on paying back at least anything received after December 27, 2020. You also should consult a criminal attorney.
So, why doesn't my list match exactly what is one the NYDOL website? Well, mostly it does, but there are simply some things that are nuanced to a degree that even over the past two years when I became a subject matter expert on Pandemic Unemployment, I did not fully get until I started adjudicating cases in a couple different states. I have seen the same types of things get flagged and disqualified over and over. What is often missed is that you are supposed to submit the BEST documentation, not just a random piece off the list.
Not all Proof of Employment is created equal. W-2s and Sched C / SE are basically the best item for most claims. Because anything else begs the question, why don't you have the most basic tax form?? What you must always remember is the list of documents was created in March 2020. At that point, people didn't always have tax forms, etc.
Items like a 2019 Job Offer letter can be sufficient, but really only if it is truly the best document to prove that you could not commence employment in 2020 because of the pandemic. In the LARGE majority of cases where a 2019 Job Offer Letter exists, it is not connected to not being able to work in March 2020. Are there some cases? Of course. But people need to understand that if they send in a job offer letter from Jan 2019 with a start date of July 2019 - that doesn't work. If they have a job offer letter from June 2019 with a start dated of June 2020 (like many law students might have) then THAT makes sense.
But with planned commencement cases, there is a reason they usually get denied and have to go to hearing, because they need someone like me LOL to ask the questions and get to the facts. It isn't always a clear cut case, unless it is a Job offer letter with a start date near the beginning of the pandemic with a subsequent rescission.
One last thing, some people will say to send more. It is best to send the BEST document and the most simple one(s). Remember, you are being asked to prove you worked in your base period, not reprove why you applied for PUA in the first place. Though I have heard that the upload link is asking for you to select the reason you applied and upload the best document. So, in cases of planned employment, it is likely prudent to send your offer letter, etc. AND you previous W-2.
Questions?
itll be more legit