Unemployment Benefits

In Matter of Vega (Postmates Inc. – Commissioner of Labor), 2020 NY Slip Op 02094 (NY Ct. App. March 26, 2020), the New York Court of Appeals – which, for non-NY practitioners, is our highest state-level appellate court – held that Postmates couriers are “employees” for purposes of unemployment benefits. This case arises from a…

Read More Court of Appeals: Postmates Couriers Are “Employees” For Purposes of Unemployment Insurance
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In Matter of Colon (Staffing Solutions Org. LLC – Commissioner of Labor), No. 528844, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 00656, 2020 WL 476389 (N.Y.A.D. 3 Dept., Jan. 30, 2020), the court upheld the denial of unemployment benefits to claimant, who resigned from her employment citing, among other things, a hostile work environment. The Department of Labor…

Read More Unemployment Benefit Denial Upheld, Notwithstanding Alleged Hostile Work Environment
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A recent Third Department decision, In the Matter of Sullivan v. Brookville Center for Children’s Services, affirmed a decision to award unemployment benefits to an employee who was terminated due to alleged disqualifying conduct, namely, posting on using social media during work hours. The court held: The question of whether a claimant engaged in actions…

Read More Violation of Company’s Social Media Policy Did Not Disqualify Worker From Receiving Unemployment Benefits
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In Matter of Gascon (decided May 29, 2014), the Appellate Division, Third Department, upheld a decision by the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board that the claimant was entitled to receive unemployment insurance benefits. In this case, the claimant asserted that she “quit due to persistent and escalating sexual harassment by her supervisor, the owner” of her employer.…

Read More Court Upholds Unemployment Benefits Where Claimant Quit Due to Sexual Harassment
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The Southern District of New York recently reiterated, in Wermann v. Excel Dentistry PC, that “a plaintiff may bring a retaliation claim stemming from an employer’s opposition to her unemployment benefits application” and that “filing retaliatory counterclaims may violate” the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The…

Read More Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleged Retaliation Based on Defendants’ Opposing Unemployment Benefits and “Frivolous” Counterclaims in Sexual Harassment Case
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A recent decision, Delucia v. Abbondandolo, Index No. 005793-10 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Nassau Cty. March 11, 2013), held that, in the circumstances of that case, it was unlawful to fire an employee because they file for unemployment benefits. After plaintiff Gina Delucia was let go by a non-party employer, she filed for unemployment benefits.  The…

Read More Retaliation Claim Based On Unemployment Filing Survives
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