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. LBD14644-06-2A. 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.