STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
782
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. GOUNARDES, BIAGGI, BROOKS, GAUGHRAN, LIU -- 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 eligibility for unemploy-
ment insurance during a state of emergency
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 591 of the labor
2 law, as amended by chapter 794 of the laws of 1963, is amended and a new
3 paragraph (e) is added to read as follows:
4 (a) [No] Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this subdivision, no
5 benefits shall be payable to a claimant for any day during a paid vaca-
6 tion period, or for a paid holiday, nor shall any such day be considered
7 a day of total unemployment under section five hundred twenty-two of
8 this article.
9 (e) The use of or payment for vacation, including holidays, sick days,
10 and personal days pursuant to an agreement by a claimant or by claim-
11 ant's union or other representative relating to a state of emergency, as
12 declared by the governor, shall not render a claimant unavailable for
13 employment, affect the determination as to days of total unemployment,
14 or otherwise disqualify a claimant for, delay receipt of, or reduce
15 amounts of, unemployment benefits.
16 § 2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 6 of section 591 of the labor law,
17 as added by section 13 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is
18 amended to read as follows:
19 (d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this subdivision
20 shall not apply during any weeks in which the initial payment of
21 dismissal pay is made more than thirty days from the last day of the
22 claimant's employment; nor shall the provisions of this subdivision
23 apply during any weeks in which the payment of dismissal pay is made
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03211-01-1
S. 782 2
1 pursuant to an agreement by the claimant or by the claimant's union or
2 other representative relating to a state of emergency as declared by the
3 governor.
4 § 3. Section 598 of the labor law, as added by chapter 475 of the laws
5 of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
6 § 598. Effect of payments for failure to provide notice of a facility
7 closure. Payments to an employee under article [twenty-five-a] twenty-
8 five-A of this chapter by an employer who has failed to provide the
9 advance notice of a facility closure required by such article or the
10 federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C.
11 Sec. 1201 et seq.) or amendments thereto; or pursuant to an agreement
12 by the claimant or claimant's union or other representative for failure
13 to provide advance notice of facility, department, or plant closure,
14 layoff, schedule change, or termination, shall not be construed as
15 remuneration under this article. Unemployment insurance benefits may not
16 be denied or reduced because of the receipt of payments related to an
17 employer's violation of article [twenty-five-a] twenty-five-A of this
18 chapter or the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification
19 Act; or an agreement by the claimant or claimant's union or other repre-
20 sentative for failure to provide advance notice of facility, department,
21 or plant closure, layoff, schedule change, or termination.
22 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.