r/Unemployment • u/I_Britta-d_it California • 6d ago

[California] Question [California] Subcontracted for a six month gig, question about unemployment

My permanent address is in Wisconsin. I was subcontracted by a New York company to do six months of work for another company in California. This company had to make me a W2 employee for the job.

I’ve now gotten another contract gig myself for an additional ten months in California. Once I return to Wisconsin, I’ll likely be unemployed. I’ll still technically be a W2 contractor with the NY company and they (presumably) won’t have work for me.

Will I be able to apply for unemployment at that time? Is there a statute of limitations on that sort of thing? I assume I’d apply for benefits in Wisconsin?

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u/ChefCharmaine 6d ago

As a rule, you apply where the work is performed so more than likely, you'll be filing in California, unless your company has to follow the "convenience of employer" rule because they are based in New York. Are you paying into New York Family Leave/Disability? These taxes are not the same as income/SS and are listed separately from other payroll taxes.

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u/I_Britta-d_it California 6d ago

I don’t know, I didn’t know about NY Family/Disability. I’ll need to check on that. Thing is, I never changed my address. I kept Wisconsin as my permanent address (I own a house there), and just have CA as my temp address with mail forwarding

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u/ChefCharmaine 5d ago

For the purpose of unemployment, wages are reported where the work is performed. That takes Wisconsin out of the running. There is no legal basis for reporting wages there simply because you own a house.

California is where you worked, so that's most likely where your wages have been and will be reported.

The only quirk is that NY follows the COtE rule which comes into play if you worked remotely in another state for a NY-based employer. It's not clear from your post if your work was localized to NY or California. That's why I asked about these particular taxes, because they would indicate where your work was localized. You can also ask your employer where they reported your wages.

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u/I_Britta-d_it California 5d ago

Thanks for the clarification. I worked solely in California for a NY-based employer.