Shared Work Frequently Asked Questions

Your employer designs a Shared Work Plan and submits it for approval to the New York State Department of Labor. Once the plan is approved, your employer will notify you so that you can start claiming your Shared Work benefits.

You must file your claim between the Monday and Sunday of your first reduced Shared Work week. (If you have an existing Unemployment Insurance claim, your employer must call Shared Work Benefits at 518-485-6375 to request that your claim be transferred to a Shared Work claim.) You can file by:

• Going online at Online Services for Individuals between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday (Eastern Time), 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, all day Saturday, and Sunday until 7:00 p.m., or
• Calling (888) 209-8124 during the hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.

You can file your claim online or by telephone in English or Spanish. If you need translation services for languages other than Spanish, call (518) 485-6375.
If you do not want to have your benefits direct deposited into your personal checking account, you will be issued a debit card. The debit cards are a safe, easy, and convenient way to access your benefits. You will receive a welcome packet from Way2Go with your debit card, instructions for activating the card and selecting a Personal Identification Number (PIN), and general information about using the card. You will need to call the Way2Go Program Customer Service Line at (844) 649-9845 to activate the card. Further information about the debit card is available on the Department's website.
You will receive the debit card about one week after your Shared Work claim has been established in our system.
After you file your claim, you must claim credit for the first week of your claim , and claim benefits for each week your wages and hours are reduced. You can claim the credit for the first week of your claim and claim benefits by going online at Online Services for Individuals from 7:30 am to midnight, Monday through Friday (Eastern Time), all day Saturday and all day Sunday.
Your Shared Work benefits will be electronically transferred to your personal checking account or to your debit card account two to three business days after we process the certification.

To be able to participate in the Shared Work Program, your employer has agreed:

• To reduce the hours and wages of all or a particular group of employees by no less than 20% and no more than 60%.
• To include in the Shared Work Plan only workers who normally work no more than 40 hours per week.
• Not to reduce or eliminate fringe benefits, including health, medical insurance, and retirement, provided prior to the start of the Shared Work Plan unless the fringe benefits of the entire workforce are reduced or eliminated.
• That the plan cannot exceed 53 weeks.
• Not to hire additional employees for the work group that is covered by the Shared Work Plan.
• That the Shared Work Plan must be approved by a collective bargaining agent, if there is one.
• That the Shared Work Plan must be in lieu of a layoff for an equivalent percentage of employees.
• That all employees in an affected unit must be included in the program and reduced to the same extent during each week of the plan. The percentage of reduction may vary from unit to unit or week to week as long as it remains between 20% and 60%.

If you feel that your employer has not honored these requirements, please contact the Department of Labor – Liability and Determination Section at (518) 457-5807.

If you are on the approved Shared Work Plan:

• You must meet the same basic eligibility requirements that apply to regular unemployment insurance benefits, except that you only need to be available to work for the Shared Work employer; i.e. you are not required to look for other work.
• Any work with a different employer or self-employment will reduce the amount of Shared Work benefits for which you are eligible.
• You are not eligible for Shared Work benefits in any week in which you receive supplemental unemployment compensation benefits (SUB pay).
• You may receive a maximum of 26 times your weekly benefit rate during your benefit year. You may not receive more in a benefit year from Shared Work benefits combined with regular UI benefits than you would receive under the regular UI program alone (26 times regular benefit rate).
• You must physically work at least one day with your Shared Work employer in order to be eligible for Shared Work benefits in a particular week.

Actions must be taken by both the Employer and the Shared Work participant (Employee) in order for a Shared Work payment to be made:

1. Employees must certify during the week following their first reduction under Shared Work. Each employee must complete the certification by signing in to their online services account here, selecting the "Unemployment Services" button, and then selecting "Certify to Claim Your Weekly Benefits Here."
2. Employers MUST login or create their employer account here. Once signed in to their employer UI Online Service Account, go to Shared Work, click on "Weekly Certifications", and follow the prompts.

Shared Work benefits are always claimed for the week prior. This means that in any given week, you and your employer will be certifying to work performed during the previous week.
If you have an existing Unemployment Insurance claim, your employer must call Shared Work Benefits at 518-485-6375 to request that the claim be transferred to a Shared Work claim.

NYS DOL uses DocuSign's secure digital signature technology to help New Yorkers get their backdated payments as quickly as possible. If your employer certified for the past week but you did not, DOL will automatically email a DocuSign document to you. Please read it carefully, answer the applicable questions, and submit it right away. If you are eligible for a benefit for the week(s) indicated on the DocuSign document, the benefit will be processed. Please see DocuSign FAQs for more information about DocuSign.

If you have further questions about the DocuSign document for Shared Work, please call 888-209-8124 for assistance.

Under the Shared Work Program, you may receive your weekly benefit rate multiplied by the percentage that your hours and wages have been reduced by your employer. For example, if your weekly hours and wages have been reduced by 30% and your regular benefit rate is $400, you will receive $120 ($400 x 30%) per week in Shared Work benefits. (See chart below)

If you are still partially unemployed after collecting all Shared Work benefits, or if you become totally unemployed, you may be eligible for regular unemployment benefits. However, the amount you will receive for Shared Work benefits and regular unemployment benefits under a single claim cannot exceed the amount you could receive under the regular unemployment insurance program alone (26 times your regular benefit rate).

For example, if your benefit rate is $400 and your work was reduced by 40% for 10 weeks, you would have received $1,600 (400 x 40% = $160 x 10wks) in Shared Work benefits. On a regular claim, the maximum amount that you could receive in a benefit year would be $10,400 (400 x 26 wks). In this case, you could be able to receive the remaining balance, which would be 10,400 – 1,600, or $8,800. (See chart below.)