Bill Text: NY S03644 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to expanding eligibility for unemployment benefits to furloughed federal employees that are residents of New York state, and are either required to work without compensation or are placed on unpaid leave as a result of a lapse in appropriations by the United States government beginning on or after December 22, 2018.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO LABOR [S03644 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S03644-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3644 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 11, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to unemployment benefits for qualified federal employees The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended 2 by chapter 413 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows: 3 1. Unemployment. Benefits, except as provided in [section] sections 4 five hundred ninety-one-a and five hundred ninety-one-b of this title, 5 shall be paid only to a claimant who is totally unemployed and who is 6 unable to engage in his usual employment or in any other for which he is 7 reasonably fitted by training and experience. A claimant who is receiv- 8 ing benefits under this article shall not be denied such benefits pursu- 9 ant to this subdivision or to subdivision two of this section because of 10 such claimant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state or of the 11 United States. 12 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by 13 chapter 446 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows: 14 1. Unemployment. Benefits, except as provided in section five hundred 15 ninety-one-b of this title, shall be paid only to a claimant who is 16 totally unemployed and who is unable to engage in his usual employment 17 or in any other for which he is reasonably fitted by training and expe- 18 rience. A claimant who is receiving benefits under this article shall 19 not be denied such benefits pursuant to this subdivision or to subdivi- 20 sion two of this section because of such claimant's service on a grand 21 or petit jury of any state or of the United States. 22 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by 23 chapter 413 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows: 24 2. Availability and capability. Except as provided in [section] 25 sections five hundred ninety-one-a and five hundred ninety-one-b of this EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09770-01-9S. 3644 2 1 title, no benefits shall be payable to any claimant who is not capable 2 of work or who is not ready, willing and able to work in his usual 3 employment or in any other for which he is reasonably fitted by training 4 and experience. 5 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by 6 section 12 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to 7 read as follows: 8 2. Availability, capability, and work search. [No] Except as provided 9 in section five hundred ninety-one-b of this title, no benefits shall be 10 payable to any claimant who is not capable of work or who is not ready, 11 willing and able to work in his or her usual employment or in any other 12 for which he or she is reasonably fitted by training and experience and 13 who is not actively seeking work. In order to be actively seeking work a 14 claimant must be engaged in systematic and sustained efforts to find 15 work. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations defining systematic 16 and sustained efforts to find work and setting standards for the proof 17 of work search efforts. 18 § 5. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 591-b to read as 19 follows: 20 § 591-b. Benefits for qualified federal employees. 1. Definitions. 21 For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 22 ing meanings: 23 (a) "Qualified employee" shall mean a federal employee who is a resi- 24 dent of this state and is either (i) required to work for the federal 25 government without compensation as a result of a covered lapse in appro- 26 priations, or (ii) is placed on unpaid leave from his or her position 27 with the federal government without compensation as a result of a 28 covered lapse in appropriations. 29 (b) "Covered lapse in appropriations" shall mean any lapse in appro- 30 priations by the federal government that begins on or after December 31 twenty-second, two thousand eighteen. 32 2. Eligibility for unemployment benefits. Each qualified employee 33 shall be eligible to receive unemployment benefits pursuant to this 34 article for the time period during which there was a covered lapse in 35 appropriations. 36 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the amend- 37 ments to subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 591 of the labor law made by 38 sections one and three of this act shall be subject to the expiration 39 and reversion of such subdivisions pursuant to chapter 413 of the laws 40 of 2003, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of sections two 41 and four of this act shall take effect.
