Bill Text: NY A09523 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to certification of public employment for purposes of the federal public service loan forgiveness program; requires public employers to provide certain notices and program forms; provides that an average of 30 hours per week shall be considered full-time for purposes of certifying public employment under the federal program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-31 - substituted by s8389c [A09523 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A09523-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9523--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 16, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  EPSTEIN,  ENGLEBRIGHT,  STECK, SIMON, AUBRY,
          WALLACE, CLARK,  SAYEGH,  SILLITTI,  DAVILA,  BURDICK,  REYES,  GIBBS,
          SOLAGES,  ABINANTI, CRUZ, THIELE, GLICK, L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Labor -- reported  and  referred  to  the
          Committee  on  Ways  and  Means -- committee discharged, bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to certification  of  employ-
          ment  with public service employers for purposes of the federal public
          service loan forgiveness program

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new article 34 to read
     2  as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 34
     4                 CERTIFICATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYMENT
     5  Section 1000. Definitions.
     6          1001. Hours worked and full-time employment.
     7          1002. Certifying employment.
     8    § 1000. Definitions. For purposes of this article:
     9    1.  "Certifying  employment"  means  either  completing  the  employer
    10  sections of the public service loan forgiveness  form  or  sharing  data
    11  directly  with the U.S.  department of education that corresponds to the
    12  information required for the public service loan forgiveness form.
    13    2. "Employee" means someone who works for a public  service  employer,
    14  regardless of whether the public service employer considers that work to
    15  be full-time or part-time, contingent, or contracted.
    16    3.  "Full-time"  for  the  purpose of certifying employment only means
    17  working at least an average of thirty hours per  week  or  at  least  an
    18  average  of thirty hours per week throughout a contractual or employment
    19  period of at least eight  months  in  a  twelve-month  period,  such  as
    20  elementary and secondary school teachers, provided, however, that should
    21  the  U.S.  department  of  education adopt a lower hourly standard, that
    22  standard shall apply.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14644-06-2
        A. 9523--A                          2

     1    4. "Public service employer" means any employer designated as a public
     2  service organization or employer by the U.S. department of education for
     3  the purpose of the public service loan  forgiveness  program.  The  term
     4  shall  include any state, county, city or other local government employ-
     5  er,   including  any  office,  department,  independent  agency,  school
     6  district, public college or university system,  public  library  system,
     7  authority,  or  other body, including the legislature and the judiciary,
     8  as well as any employer that has received designation  as  a  tax-exempt
     9  organization  pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue
    10  Code.  For the purposes of this article, this term does  not  include  a
    11  federal or tribal nation government organization, agency, or entity.
    12    5.  "Public  service loan forgiveness form" means the form used by the
    13  U.S. department of education to certify an individual's employment at  a
    14  public  service  organization and determine eligibility for the purposes
    15  of the public service loan forgiveness program.
    16    6. "Public service loan forgiveness program" means  the  federal  loan
    17  forgiveness  program  established  pursuant  to  20  U.S.C. 1087e(m) and
    18  administered pursuant to 34 C.F.R 685.219, as of the effective  date  of
    19  this article.
    20    §  1001.  Hours  worked  and full-time employment. The following shall
    21  apply for the purposes of certifying employment for the purposes of  the
    22  public  service  loan  forgiveness  program only and shall have no other
    23  applicability for public service employers and their employees.
    24    1. For faculty or teacher employees, a public service employer  certi-
    25  fying  employment  after  the  effective  date of this subdivision shall
    26  credit 3.35 hours worked for each hour of  lecture  or  classroom  time,
    27  regardless  of  when the hours were worked, including hours worked prior
    28  to the effective date of this subdivision.   This subdivision  does  not
    29  supersede  any  greater  adjustment  factor  established by a collective
    30  bargaining agreement or employer policy  in  recognition  of  additional
    31  work  associated  with  lecture or classroom time for the purpose of the
    32  public service loan forgiveness program.
    33    2. When determining whether an employee is considered "full-time,"  as
    34  that  term  is  defined  in  this article, for the purpose of certifying
    35  employment for the public  service  loan  forgiveness  program  only,  a
    36  public  service employer shall not treat any adjusted total hours worked
    37  pursuant to subdivision one  of  this  section  differently  from  hours
    38  worked without an adjustment factor.
    39    3.  For  the  purpose  of certifying employment only, a public service
    40  employer shall consider as "full-time" any employee  who  satisfies  the
    41  definition of "full-time" provided in this article.
    42    § 1002. Certifying employment. 1. Should the U.S. department of educa-
    43  tion  permit  public service employers to certify employment for past or
    44  present individual employees or groups of employees  directly  with  the
    45  U.S.  department  of  education  or  its  agents,  notwithstanding other
    46  provisions of law, a public service employer shall be permitted to  send
    47  to  the  U.S.    department  of  education or its agents the information
    48  necessary for employment certification.
    49    2. If a public service employer does not directly  certify  employment
    50  with  the  U.S.  department  of education pursuant to subdivision one of
    51  this section, the public service employer shall annually provide  notice
    52  of  renewal  and a copy of the public service loan forgiveness form with
    53  the employer information and employment certification  sections  of  the
    54  form already completed to:
    55    a. an employee who requests a public service loan forgiveness form;
        A. 9523--A                          3

     1    b.  any  current  employee  for  whom  the public service employer has
     2  previously certified employment; and
     3    c.  an  employee who is ending his or her work with the public service
     4  employer.
     5    The partially completed form should reflect employment for  the  prior
     6  calendar  year,  and may reflect longer periods of employment, as neces-
     7  sary.
     8    3. A public service employer shall not unreasonably delay in  certify-
     9  ing employment.
    10    4.  Nothing  in  this  section shall prevent a public service employer
    11  from seeking permission from its employees  prior  to  certifying  their
    12  employment.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that:
    14    a. public service employers shall be required to comply with paragraph
    15  a  of subdivision 2 of section 1002 of the labor law as added by section
    16  one of this act no later than sixty days after such effective date; and
    17    b. public service employers shall be required to comply with paragraph
    18  b of subdivision 2 of section 1002 of the labor law as added by  section
    19  one of this act no later than January 1, 2023.