Bill Text: NY S08389 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-15 - SIGNED CHAP.562 [S08389 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S08389-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8389

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 22, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  THOMAS -- 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 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          1003. Tax  consequences  of  cancellation.
     9    § 1000. Definitions. For purposes of this article:
    10    1.  "Certifying  employment"  means  either  completing  the  employer
    11  sections of the public service loan forgiveness  form  or  sharing  data
    12  directly  with the U.S.  department of education that corresponds to the
    13  information required for the public service loan forgiveness form.
    14    2. "Employee" means someone who works for a public  service  employer,
    15  regardless of whether the public service employer considers that work to
    16  be full-time or part-time, contingent, or contracted.
    17    3.  "Full-time"  for  the  purpose of certifying employment only means
    18  working at least thirty hours per week or at least thirty hours per week
    19  throughout a contractual or employment period of at least  eight  months
    20  in a twelve-month period, such as elementary and secondary school teach-
    21  ers.
    22    4.  "Public  service  employer" means any state, county, city or other
    23  local government employer, including any office, department, independent
    24  agency, school district, public college  or  university  system,  public
    25  library  system, authority, or other body, including the legislature and
    26  the judiciary. This term shall also mean any employer that has  received
    27  designation  as  a tax-exempt organization pursuant to section 501(c)(3)

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14644-02-2
        S. 8389                             2

     1  of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. This term does not include a  federal
     2  or tribal nation government organization, agency, or entity.
     3    5.  "Public  service loan forgiveness form" means the form used by the
     4  U.S. department of education to certify an individual's employment at  a
     5  public  service  organization and determine eligibility for the purposes
     6  of the public service loan forgiveness program.
     7    6. "Public service loan forgiveness program" means  the  federal  loan
     8  forgiveness  program  established  pursuant  to  20  U.S.C. 1087e(m) and
     9  administered pursuant to 34 C.F.R 685.219, as of the effective  date  of
    10  this article.
    11    §  1001.  Hours  worked  and full-time employment. The following shall
    12  apply for the purposes of certifying employment for the purposes of  the
    13  public  service  loan  forgiveness  program only and shall have no other
    14  applicability for public service employers and their employees.
    15    1. For faculty or teacher employees, a public service  employer  shall
    16  credit  3.35  hours  worked  for each hour of lecture or classroom time.
    17  This subdivision does not supersede any greater adjustment factor estab-
    18  lished by a collective bargaining agreement or employer policy in recog-
    19  nition of additional work associated with lecture or classroom time  for
    20  the purpose of the public service loan forgiveness program.
    21    2.  When determining whether an employee is considered "full-time," as
    22  that term is defined in this article,  for  the  purpose  of  certifying
    23  employment  for  the  public  service  loan  forgiveness program only, a
    24  public service employer shall not treat any adjusted total hours  worked
    25  pursuant  to  subdivision  one  of  this  section differently from hours
    26  worked without an adjustment factor.
    27    3. For the purpose of certifying employment  only,  a  public  service
    28  employer  shall  consider  as "full-time" any employee who satisfies the
    29  definition of "full-time" provided in this article.
    30    § 1002. Certifying employment. 1. Should the U.S. department of educa-
    31  tion permit public service employers to certify employment for  past  or
    32  present  individual  employees  or groups of employees directly with the
    33  U.S. department  of  education  or  its  agents,  notwithstanding  other
    34  provisions  of law, a public service employer shall be permitted to send
    35  to the U.S.   department of education  or  its  agents  the  information
    36  necessary for employment certification.
    37    2.  If  a public service employer does not directly certify employment
    38  with the U.S. department of education pursuant  to  subdivision  one  of
    39  this  section, the public service employer shall annually provide notice
    40  of renewal and a copy of the public service loan forgiveness  form  with
    41  the  employer  information  and employment certification sections of the
    42  form already completed to:
    43    a. an employee who requests a public service loan forgiveness form;
    44    b. any current employee for  whom  the  public  service  employer  has
    45  previously certified employment; and
    46    c.  an  employee who is ending his or her work with the public service
    47  employer.
    48    The partially completed form should reflect employment for  the  prior
    49  calendar  year,  and may reflect longer periods of employment, as neces-
    50  sary.
    51    3. A public service employer shall not unreasonably delay in  certify-
    52  ing employment.
    53    4.  Nothing  in  this  section shall prevent a public service employer
    54  from seeking permission from its employees  prior  to  certifying  their
    55  employment.
        S. 8389                             3

     1    §  1003.  Tax  consequences of cancellation. Notwithstanding any other
     2  provision of law, debt cancellation  through  the  public  service  loan
     3  forgiveness  program  shall  not be subject to taxation and shall not be
     4  required to be reported on individual income tax returns.
     5    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that:
     6    a. public service employers shall be required to comply with paragraph
     7  a of subdivision 2 of section 1002 of the labor law as added by this act
     8  no later than sixty days after such effective date; and
     9    b. public service employers shall be required to comply with paragraph
    10  b of subdivision 2 of section 1002 of the labor law as added by this act
    11  no later than January 1, 2023.