Reader Question: When I certified my week I read that there is a requirement to search for work. Do I need to be searching for work?
Short Answer
My thoughts are that as long as your area didn’t completely open up for business, then you don’t need to keep a work-search record, though in order to be extra sure, you might want to anyways.
Long Answer
Read the in-depth analysis, look at the conflicting guidance listed below and make your own judgement.
Pre-Covid Work Search Requirements
If someone is receiving unemployment, one of the requirements is to look for work each week. The handbook spells out which jobs a person needs to accept, according to certain criteria. A Work Search Record is meant to be completed and proof of searching for work needs to be kept and submitted if requested. So as long as someone is claiming and receiving unemployment, they need to be trying to get a job. The unemployment payments are meant to help financially whilst looking for, but unable to, find a job. Here are further details regarding searching for work.
Searching for Work During Covid
The question is if the above requirements applies now during Covid-19 being that the entire reason for the expanded unemployment benefits is because people are asked to stay home and business forced to close due to the pandemic. Conventional wisdom would suggest that there is no requirement to search for work when people are specifically told to stay home and businesses are closed. Although it goes without saying that if you do find appropriate work that you can keep safe while doing, then take it!
But I read the fine print in the weekly certification form, it seems to say that I have to look for work. Do I?
When certifying for weekly unemployment payments, the following text appears:
“I understand I must be actively seeking work and must develop and keep a record of my work search activities for one year. I have made at least three work search activities per week on different days of the week, or followed an official written work search plan developed and approved by the Department of Labor if one has been developed, unless I have been specifically designated as exempt from this work search requirement by the Department of Labor. My activities include at least one activity from activities 1 through 5 as listed in the Unemployment Insurance Information for Claimants Handbook. If I receive a request to submit my Work Search Record to the Department of Labor, and fail to respond to this request, my benefits may be stopped.“
Based on this text, one does need to indeed search for work. The question is if that requirement to look for work still applies now, during Covid-19. Note that there already is an implied exception to the work-search requirement in the text above “…unless I have been specifically designated as exempt from this work search requirement by the Department of Labor…”
CARES ACT – Federal Guidance
The CARES Act says that if someone can look for work, they should, but that states should be flexible about requiring it, due to current circumstances.
The CARES Act does include the requirement to be “in an active search for employment that is appropriate in light of the employment available in the labor market…”
However, the following section is key: “…a State shall provide flexibility in meeting such requirements in case of individuals unable to search for work because of COVID–19, including because of illness, quarantine, or movement restriction.”
NY STATE – Searching for Work
So, now that it’s clear that states can provide flexibility regarding the requirement to search for work, let’s see what NY State said about the requirement to search for work.
This Says No:
On March 26, the governor wrote that (emphasis mine) “If you filed for unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic, you do not need to prove you are searching for employment to make a claim. Department of Labor Commissioner Reardon has signed a new order that limits all work search activities for all unemployment claimants. No activities are required during the pandemic to receive unemployment benefits.” Read the letter from the governor here.
On nysenate.gov, it states (emphasis mine) “The commissioner of the NYS Department of Labor signed an order that limits all work search activities for claimants of unemployment insurance. No work search activities will be required during the pandemic. For more info, and to apply for unemployment insurance benefits, visit labor.ny.gov.”
But This says Yes:
However, the NY DOL posted on their website that there is a requirement to search for work. See link here. The only situation where that the DOL website lists as a reason not to search for work is “you were laid off because your employer closed or reduced operations due to COVID-19, and your employer told you that you will be called back to work when the business reopens.”
My Thoughts:
The chances of the state asking people for proof that they looked for work is, in my opinion, very very slim. This is especially true as there seems to be contradictory guidance on various state websites, as I noted above. I find it very hard to believe that they will come after people who didn’t search for work. Definitely not until your area opens back up for work. Based on reports that I am hearing and from what I am seeing online, a vast number of people are not “looking for work”.
That being said, here are a few scenarios where it is quite certainly OK not to be looking for work even based on the guidance found on DOL’s website.
- If you have a job or business to go back to once your area reopens, then the wording from the DOL (and common sense) dictates that you don’t need to look for work. The DOL website says that if you were told that you will have your job back when the business reopens, then you don’t need to look for work. To me it is quite clear that this exception would also include a self-employed person that cannot run their business due to Covid-19 and knows that their business will reopen as soon as businesses are allowed to reopen. Although the DOL website doesn’t clearly state this specific situation, logically it would be the same as their scenario.
- If you were eligible due to being the primary caregiver. After all, the whole reason why you were eligible is that you can’t work due to being the primary caregiver. It would, therefore, make no sense to look for work that you anyways cannot do.
If you don’t fall into the above categories, I still don’t think you need to “search for work”. If you want to be extra safe, then sure, keep a record of your work search. If you did not look for work though, I would not worry about it, as the chances of the DOL demanding proof of work search is extremely extremely low. There are just way too many people who did not look for work (being under the assumption that there is no search requirement), and there are clear state websites that state that no work search is required.
How to Search for Work
Here are some ideas how you can look for work. Taking screenshots of your efforts to look for work can be a way to have proof.
- Indeed.com – search for work
- Send a message to an individual or a group on Whats-app asking for job leads
- Send a message to your former employer asking for work
- Send an email to another organization/company asking for work
The DOL offers the following suggestions how to search for work:
- Completing online job applications
- Using social networking and other online tools to do job searches
- Calling or emailing employers, unions, or staffing agencies
- Participating in virtual workshops
Open for Business
Once your area opens up for business, then do look for work and keep a record of your work search, unless you are the primary caregiver and your child’s place of care is still closed due to Covid-19 or you are still eligible for another Covid-related reason.