S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 2873 2015-2016 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E January 29, 2015 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SAVINO -- 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 the calculation of weekly employment insurance benefits for workers who are partially unem- ployed; and repealing certain provisions of such law relating thereto THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Section 522 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 720 of 2 the laws of 1953, is amended to read as follows: 3 S 522. Total unemployment AND PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT. "Total unemploy- 4 ment" means the total lack of any employment [on any day] DURING ANY 5 WEEK. "PARTIAL EMPLOYMENT" MEANS ANY EMPLOYMENT DURING ANY WEEK THAT IS 6 LESS THAN FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT SO LONG AS THE COMPENSATION PAID IS LESS 7 THAN THE CLAIMANT'S WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE PLUS THE CLAIMANT'S PARTIAL 8 BENEFIT CREDIT. The term "employment" as used in this section means any 9 employment including that not defined in this title. 10 S 2. Section 523 of the labor law is REPEALED and a new section 523 is 11 added to read as follows: 12 S 523. EFFECTIVE WEEK. "EFFECTIVE WEEK" MEANS (A) A WEEK DURING WHICH 13 A CLAIMANT PERFORMS NO SERVICES FOR WHICH THE CLAIMANT IS PAID COMPEN- 14 SATION, OR (B) A WEEK DURING WHICH A CLAIMANT PERFORMS SERVICES ON A 15 PART-TIME BASIS FOR WHICH THE CLAIMANT IS PAID COMPENSATION THAT IS LESS 16 THAN THE CLAIMANT'S WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE PLUS HIS OR HER PARTIAL BENEFIT 17 CREDIT. 18 S 3. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 525 to read as 19 follows: 20 S 525. PARTIAL BENEFIT CREDIT. "PARTIAL BENEFIT CREDIT" MEANS THAT 21 PART OF THE COMPENSATION, IF ANY, PAID TO A CLAIMANT WITH RESPECT TO A 22 WEEK FOR WHICH BENEFITS ARE CLAIMED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THIS LAW 23 WHICH IS NOT IN EXCESS OF FIFTY PER CENTUM OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S WEEKLY 24 BENEFIT RATE, OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS, WHICHEVER IS THE GREATER. SUCH EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06733-02-5 S. 2873 2 1 PARTIAL BENEFIT CREDIT, IF NOT A MULTIPLE OF ONE DOLLAR, SHALL BE 2 COMPUTED TO THE NEXT HIGHER MULTIPLE OF ONE DOLLAR. 3 S 4. Subdivision 4 of section 527 of the labor law, as amended by 4 chapter 832 of the laws of 1968 and as renumbered by chapter 381 of the 5 laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 6 4. General condition. A valid original claim may be filed only in a 7 week [in which the claimant has at least one effective day of unemploy- 8 ment] THAT QUALIFIES AS AN EFFECTIVE WEEK OF UNEMPLOYMENT FOR THE CLAIM- 9 ANT. 10 S 5. Subparagraph 2 of paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 581 11 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 282 of the laws of 2002 and 12 clause (v) as added by chapter 106 of the laws of 2007, is amended to 13 read as follows: 14 (2) Benefits payable to any claimant with respect to the claimant's 15 then current benefit year shall be charged, when paid, to the account of 16 the last employer prior to the filing of a valid original claim in an 17 amount equal to seven times the claimant's benefit rate. Thereafter, 18 such charges shall be made to the account of each employer in the base 19 period used to establish the valid original claim in the same proportion 20 that the remuneration paid by each employer to the claimant during that 21 base period bears to the remuneration paid by all employers to the 22 claimant during that base period except as provided below: 23 (i) In those instances where the claimant may not utilize wages paid 24 to establish entitlement based upon subdivision ten of section five 25 hundred ninety of this article and an educational institution is the 26 claimant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits, 27 or the claimant performed services in such educational institution in 28 such capacity while employed by an educational service agency which is 29 the claimant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for bene- 30 fits, such employer shall not be liable for benefit charges for the 31 first [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits 32 paid as otherwise provided by this section. Under such circumstances, 33 benefits paid shall be charged to the general account. In addition, 34 wages paid during the base period by such educational institutions, or 35 for services in such educational institutions for claimants employed by 36 an educational service agency shall not be considered base period wages 37 during periods that such wages may not be used to gain entitlement to 38 benefits pursuant to subdivision ten of section five hundred ninety of 39 this article. 40 (ii) In those instances where the claimant may not utilize wages paid 41 to establish entitlement based upon subdivision eleven of section five 42 hundred ninety of this article and an educational institution is the 43 claimant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits, 44 or the claimant performed services in such educational institution in 45 such capacity while employed by an educational service agency which is 46 the claimant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for bene- 47 fits, such employer shall not be liable for benefit charges for the 48 first [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits 49 paid as otherwise provided by this section. Under such circumstances, 50 benefits paid will be charged to the general account. In addition, wages 51 paid during the base period by such educational institutions, or for 52 services in such educational institutions for claimants employed by an 53 educational service agency shall not be considered base period wages 54 during periods that such wages may not be used to gain entitlement to 55 benefits pursuant to subdivision eleven of section five hundred ninety 56 of this article. However, in those instances where a claimant was not S. 2873 3 1 afforded an opportunity to perform services for the educational institu- 2 tion for the next academic year or term after reasonable assurance was 3 provided, such employer shall be liable for benefit charges as provided 4 for in this paragraph for any retroactive payments made to the claimant. 5 (iii) In those instances where the federal government is the claim- 6 ant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits and 7 such employer is not a base-period employer, payments equaling the first 8 [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits as 9 otherwise prescribed by this section shall be charged to the general 10 account. In those instances where the federal government is the claim- 11 ant's last employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits and a 12 base-period employer, such employer shall be liable for charges for all 13 benefits paid on such claim in the same proportion that the remuneration 14 paid by such employer during the base period bears to the remuneration 15 paid by all employers during the base period. In addition, benefit 16 payment charges for the first [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFEC- 17 TIVE WEEKS of benefits other than those chargeable to the federal 18 government as prescribed above shall be made to the general account. 19 (iv) In those instances where a combined wage claim is filed pursuant 20 to interstate reciprocal agreements and the claimant's last employer 21 prior to the filing of the claim is an out-of-state employer and such 22 employer is not a base-period employer, benefit payments equaling the 23 first [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits as 24 otherwise prescribed by this section shall be charged to the general 25 account. In those instances where the out-of-state employer is the last 26 employer prior to the filing of the claim for benefits and a base-period 27 employer such employer shall be liable for charges for all benefits paid 28 on such claim in the same proportion that the remuneration paid by such 29 employer during the base period bears to the remuneration paid by all 30 employers during the base period. In addition, benefit payment charges 31 for the [twenty-eight effective days] SEVEN EFFECTIVE WEEKS of benefits 32 other than those chargeable to the out-of-state employer as prescribed 33 above shall be made to the general account. 34 (v) In those instances where the last employer prior to the filing of 35 a valid original claim has paid total remuneration to the claimant 36 during the period from the start of the base period used to establish 37 the benefit claim until the date of the claimant's filing of the valid 38 original claim in an amount less than or equal to six times the claim- 39 ant's benefit rate and the last employer has substantiated such amount 40 to the satisfaction of the commissioner within ten days of the commis- 41 sioner's original notice of potential charges to such last employer's 42 account, benefits shall be charged as follows: benefits payable to the 43 claimant with respect to the claimant's then current benefit year shall 44 be charged, when paid, to the account of such last employer prior to the 45 filing of a valid original claim in an amount equal to the lowest whole 46 number (one, two, three, four, five, or six) times the claimant's bene- 47 fit rate where the product of such lowest whole number times the claim- 48 ant's benefit rate is equal to or greater than such total remuneration 49 paid by such last employer to the claimant. Thereafter, such charges 50 shall be made to the account of each employer in the base period used to 51 establish the valid original claim in the same proportion that the 52 remuneration paid by each employer to the claimant during that base 53 period bears to the remuneration paid by all employers to the claimant 54 during that base period. Notice of such recalculation of potential 55 charges shall be given to the last employer and each employer of the 56 claimant in the base period used to establish the valid original claim. S. 2873 4 1 S 6. Subdivision 1 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by 2 chapter 645 of the laws of 1951, is amended to read as follows: 3 1. Entitlement to benefits. A claimant shall be entitled to accumulate 4 effective [days] WEEKS for the purpose of benefit rights only if he has 5 complied with the provisions of this article regarding the filing of his 6 claim, including the filing of a valid original claim, registered as 7 totally OR PARTIALLY unemployed, reported his subsequent employment and 8 unemployment, and reported for work or otherwise given notice of the 9 continuance of his unemployment. 10 S 7. Subdivision 3 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by 11 chapter 645 of the laws of 1951, is amended to read as follows: 12 3. Compensable periods. Benefits shall be paid for each [accumulation 13 of] effective [days within a] week. 14 S 8. Subdivision 4 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by 15 chapter 457 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows: 16 4. Duration. Benefits shall not be paid [for more than one hundred and 17 four effective days] IN AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN TWENTY-SIX TIMES THE 18 CLAIMANT'S WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE in any benefit year, except as provided 19 in section six hundred one and subdivision two of section five hundred 20 ninety-nine of this chapter. 21 S 9. Subdivision 5 of section 590 of the labor law is amended by 22 adding two new paragraphs (c) and (d) to read as follows: 23 (C) BENEFIT FOR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 24 (D) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, ANY CLAIMANT WHO IS PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED WITH 25 RESPECT TO ANY EFFECTIVE WEEK SHALL BE PAID, WITH RESPECT TO SUCH EFFEC- 26 TIVE WEEK, A BENEFIT EQUAL TO HIS WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE LESS THE TOTAL OF 27 THE REMUNERATION, IF ANY, PAID OR PAYABLE TO HIM WITH RESPECT TO SUCH 28 WEEK FOR SERVICES PERFORMED WHICH IS IN EXCESS OF HIS PARTIAL BENEFIT 29 CREDIT. 30 (D) BENEFIT FOR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT FOR CERTAIN CLAIMANTS WORKING ONE 31 DAY IN A WEEK. ANY CLAIMANT WHO IS PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED WITH RESPECT TO 32 ANY EFFECTIVE WEEK BUT WHOSE EMPLOYMENT IS LIMITED TO ONE DAY DURING 33 THAT EFFECTIVE WEEK AND WHOSE REMUNERATION PAID OR PAYABLE TO HIM WITH 34 RESPECT TO SUCH WEEK FOR SERVICES PERFORMED IS LESS THAN HIS WEEKLY 35 BENEFIT RATE SHALL BE PAID, WITH RESPECT TO SUCH EFFECTIVE WEEK, A BENE- 36 FIT EQUAL TO THREE-QUARTERS OF HIS WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE, OR IF HIGHER, 37 THE BENEFIT CALCULATED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION. 38 S 10. Subdivision 6 of section 590 of the labor law, as added by chap- 39 ter 720 of the laws of 1953 and as renumbered by chapter 675 of the laws 40 of 1977, is amended to read as follows: 41 6. Notification requirement. No effective [day] WEEK shall be counted 42 for any purposes except effective [days] WEEKS as to which notification 43 has been given in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. 44 S 11. Subdivision 7 of section 590 of the labor law, as amended by 45 chapter 415 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows: 46 7. Waiting period. A claimant shall not be entitled to accumulate 47 effective [days] WEEKS for the purpose of benefit payments until he has 48 accumulated a waiting period of [four effective days either wholly with- 49 in the week in which he established his valid original claim or partly 50 within such week and partly within his benefit year initiated by such 51 claim] ONE EFFECTIVE WEEK. 52 S 12. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by 53 chapter 413 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows: 54 1. Unemployment. Benefits, except as provided in section five hundred 55 ninety-one-a of this title, shall be paid only to a claimant who is 56 totally unemployed OR PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED and who is unable to engage S. 2873 5 1 in his usual employment or in any other for which he is reasonably 2 fitted by training and experience. A claimant who is receiving benefits 3 under this article shall not be denied such benefits pursuant to this 4 subdivision or to subdivision two of this section because of such claim- 5 ant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state or of the United 6 States. 7 S 13. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 591 of the labor law 8 is REPEALED and a new paragraph (a) is added to read as follows: 9 (A) COMPENSATION PAID TO A CLAIMANT FOR ANY DAY DURING A PAID VACATION 10 PERIOD, OR FOR A PAID HOLIDAY, SHALL BE CONSIDERED COMPENSATION FROM 11 EMPLOYMENT. 12 S 14. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 13 591-a of the labor law, as amended by section 14 of part O of chapter 57 14 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 15 (i) requirements relating to total unemployment AND PARTIAL UNEMPLOY- 16 MENT, as defined in section five hundred twenty-two of this article, 17 availability for work and search for work, as set forth in subdivision 18 two of section five hundred ninety-one of this title and refusal to 19 accept work, as set forth in subdivision two of section five hundred 20 ninety-three of this title, are not applicable to such individuals; 21 S 15. Subdivision 2 of section 592 of the labor law, as amended by 22 chapter 415 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows: 23 2. Concurrent payments prohibited. No [days] WEEKS of total unemploy- 24 ment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT shall be deemed to occur in any week with 25 respect to which [or a part of which] a claimant has received or is 26 seeking unemployment benefits under an unemployment compensation law of 27 any other state or of the United States, provided that this provision 28 shall not apply if the appropriate agency of such other state or of the 29 United States finally determines that he is not entitled to such unem- 30 ployment benefits. 31 S 16. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 593 of the labor law, 32 as amended by section 15 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is 33 amended to read as follows: 34 (a) No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT 35 shall be deemed to occur after a claimant's voluntary separation without 36 good cause from employment until he or she has subsequently worked in 37 employment and earned remuneration at least equal to ten times his or 38 her weekly benefit rate. In addition to other circumstances that may be 39 found to constitute good cause, including a compelling family reason as 40 set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, voluntary separation 41 from employment shall not in itself disqualify a claimant if circum- 42 stances have developed in the course of such employment that would have 43 justified the claimant in refusing such employment in the first instance 44 under the terms of subdivision two of this section or if the claimant, 45 pursuant to an option provided under a collective bargaining agreement 46 or written employer plan which permits waiver of his or her right to 47 retain the employment when there is a temporary layoff because of lack 48 of work, has elected to be separated for a temporary period and the 49 employer has consented thereto. 50 S 17. The opening paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 593 of the 51 labor law, as amended by section 15 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws 52 of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 53 No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT shall be 54 deemed to occur beginning with the [day on] WEEK IN which a claimant, 55 without good cause, refuses to accept an offer of employment for which 56 he or she is reasonably fitted by training and experience, including S. 2873 6 1 employment not subject to this article, until he or she has subsequently 2 worked in employment and earned remuneration at least equal to ten times 3 his or her weekly benefit rate. Except that claimants who are not 4 subject to a recall date or who do not obtain employment through a union 5 hiring hall and who are still unemployed after receiving ten weeks of 6 benefits shall be required to accept any employment proffered that such 7 claimants are capable of performing, provided that such employment would 8 result in a wage not less than eighty percent of such claimant's high 9 calendar quarter wages received in the base period and not substantially 10 less than the prevailing wage for similar work in the locality as 11 provided for in paragraph (d) of this subdivision. No refusal to accept 12 employment shall be deemed without good cause nor shall it disqualify 13 any claimant otherwise eligible to receive benefits if: 14 S 18. Subdivision 3 of section 593 of the labor law, as amended by 15 section 15 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to 16 read as follows: 17 3. Misconduct. No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEM- 18 PLOYMENT shall be deemed to occur after a claimant lost employment 19 through misconduct in connection with his or her employment until he or 20 she has subsequently worked in employment and earned remuneration at 21 least equal to ten times his or her weekly benefit rate. 22 S 19. Subdivision 4 of section 593 of the labor law, as amended by 23 chapter 589 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows: 24 4. Criminal acts. No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL 25 UNEMPLOYMENT shall be deemed to occur during a period of twelve months 26 after a claimant loses employment as a result of an act constituting a 27 felony in connection with such employment, provided the claimant is duly 28 convicted thereof or has signed a statement admitting that he or she has 29 committed such an act. Determinations regarding a benefit claim may be 30 reviewed at any time. Any benefits paid to a claimant prior to a deter- 31 mination that the claimant has lost employment as a result of such act 32 shall not be considered to have been accepted by the claimant in good 33 faith. In addition, remuneration paid to the claimant by the affected 34 employer prior to the claimant's loss of employment due to such criminal 35 act may not be utilized for the purpose of establishing entitlement to a 36 subsequent, valid original claim. The provisions of this subdivision 37 shall apply even if the employment lost as a result of such act is not 38 the claimant's last employment prior to the filing of his or her claim. 39 S 20. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 594 of the labor law, as amended 40 by section 16 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, are amended 41 to read as follows: 42 (1) A claimant who has wilfully made a false statement or represen- 43 tation to obtain any benefit under the provisions of this article shall 44 forfeit benefits for at least the first [four] ONE but not more than the 45 first [eighty] TWENTY effective [days] WEEKS following discovery of such 46 offense for which he or she otherwise would have been entitled to 47 receive benefits. Such penalty shall apply only once with respect to 48 each such offense. 49 (2) For the purpose of subdivision four of section five hundred ninety 50 of this article, the claimant shall be deemed to have received benefits 51 for such forfeited effective [days] WEEKS. 52 S 21. Subdivision 1 of section 596 of the labor law, as amended by 53 chapter 204 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows: 54 1. Claim filing and certification to unemployment. A claimant shall 55 file a claim for benefits at the local state employment office serving 56 the area in which he was last employed or in which he resides within S. 2873 7 1 such time and in such manner as the commissioner shall prescribe. He 2 shall disclose whether he owes child support obligations, as hereafter 3 defined. If a claimant making such disclosure is eligible for benefits, 4 the commissioner shall notify the state or local child support enforce- 5 ment agency, as hereafter defined, that the claimant is eligible. 6 A claimant shall correctly report any [days] WEEKS of employment and 7 any compensation he received for such employment, including employments 8 not subject to this article, and the [days on] WEEKS DURING which he was 9 totally unemployed OR PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED and shall make such reports 10 in accordance with such regulations as the commissioner shall prescribe. 11 S 22. Subdivision 4 of section 596 of the labor law, as added by chap- 12 ter 705 of the laws of 1944, as renumbered by section 148-a of part B of 13 chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: 14 4. Registration and reporting for work. A claimant shall register as 15 totally unemployed OR PARTIALLY UNEMPLOYED at a local state employment 16 office serving the area in which he was last employed or in which he 17 resides in accordance with such regulations as the commissioner shall 18 prescribe. After so registering, such claimant shall report for work at 19 the same local state employment office or otherwise give notice of the 20 continuance of his unemployment as often and in such manner as the 21 commissioner shall prescribe. 22 S 23. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 599 of the labor law, 23 as amended by chapter 593 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as 24 follows: 25 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a claimant 26 attending an approved training course or program under this section may 27 receive additional benefits of up to [one hundred four] TWENTY-SIX 28 effective [days] WEEKS following exhaustion of regular and, if in 29 effect, any other extended benefits, provided that entitlement to a new 30 benefit claim cannot be established. Certification of continued satis- 31 factory participation and progress in such training course or program 32 must be submitted to the commissioner prior to the payment of any such 33 benefits. The duration of such additional benefits shall in no case 34 exceed twice the number of effective [days] WEEKS of regular benefits to 35 which the claimant is entitled at the time the claimant is accepted in, 36 or demonstrates application for appropriate training. 37 S 24. The opening paragraph and paragraph (e) of subdivision 2 of 38 section 601 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 39 2009, are amended to read as follows: 40 Extended benefits shall be payable to a claimant for effective [days] 41 WEEKS occurring [in any week] within an eligibility period, provided the 42 claimant 43 (e) is not claiming benefits pursuant to an interstate claim filed 44 under the interstate benefit payment plan in a state where an extended 45 benefit period is not in effect, except that this condition shall not 46 apply with respect to the first [eight] TWO effective [days] WEEKS for 47 which extended benefits shall otherwise be payable pursuant to an inter- 48 state claim filed under the interstate benefit payment plan; and 49 S 25. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 3 of section 601 of the 50 labor law, as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2009, are amended to 51 read as follows: 52 (b) for not more than [fifty-two] THIRTEEN effective [days] WEEKS with 53 respect to his or her applicable benefit year, with a total maximum 54 amount equal to fifty percentum of the total maximum amount of regular 55 benefits payable in such benefit year, and S. 2873 8 1 (c) if a claimant's benefit year ends within an extended benefit peri- 2 od, the remaining balance of extended benefits to which he or she would 3 be entitled, if any, shall be reduced by the number of effective [days] 4 WEEKS for which he or she was entitled to receive trade readjustment 5 allowances under the federal trade act of nineteen hundred seventy-four 6 during such benefit year, and 7 S 26. Subdivision 4 of section 601 of the labor law, as amended by 8 chapter 35 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 9 4. Charging of extended benefits. The provisions of paragraph (e) of 10 subdivision one of section five hundred eighty-one of this article shall 11 apply to benefits paid pursuant to the provisions of this section, and 12 if they were paid for effective [days occurring in] weeks following the 13 end of a benefit year, they shall be deemed paid with respect to that 14 benefit year. However, except for governmental entities as defined in 15 section five hundred sixty-five and Indian tribes as defined in section 16 five hundred sixty-six of this article, only one-half of the amount of 17 such benefits shall be debited to the employers' account; the remainder 18 thereof shall be debited to the general account, and such account shall 19 be credited with the amount of payments received in the fund pursuant to 20 the provisions of the federal-state extended unemployment compensation 21 act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, where the state has entered an 22 extended benefit period triggered pursuant to subparagraph one of para- 23 graph (a) of subdivision one of this section for which federal law 24 provides for one hundred percent federal sharing of the costs of bene- 25 fits, all charges shall be debited to the general account and such 26 account shall be credited with the amount of payments received in the 27 fund pursuant to the provisions of the federal-state extended unemploy- 28 ment compensation act or other federal law providing for one hundred 29 percent federal sharing for the cost of such benefits. 30 S 27. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 601 of the labor law, 31 as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as 32 follows: 33 (b) No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT 34 shall be deemed to occur [in any week] within an eligibility period 35 during which a claimant fails to accept any offer of suitable work or 36 fails to apply for suitable work to which he or she was referred by the 37 commissioner, who shall make such referral if such work is available, or 38 during which he or she fails to engage actively in seeking work by 39 making a systematic and sustained effort to obtain work and providing 40 tangible evidence of such effort, and until he or she has worked in 41 employment during at least four subsequent weeks and earned remuneration 42 of at least four times his or her benefit rate. 43 S 28. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 5 of section 601 of the labor law, 44 as amended by chapter 35 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as 45 follows: 46 (e) No [days] WEEKS of total unemployment OR PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT 47 shall be deemed to occur [in any week] within an eligibility period 48 under section five hundred ninety-three of this article, until he or she 49 has subsequently worked in employment in accordance with the require- 50 ments set forth in section five hundred ninety-three of this article. 51 S 29. Section 603 of the labor law, as amended by section 21 of part O 52 of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 53 S 603. Definitions. For purposes of this title: "Total unemployment" 54 shall mean the total lack of any employment [on any day] DURING ANY WEEK 55 AND "PARTIAL UNEMPLOYMENT" SHALL MEAN ANY EMPLOYMENT DURING ANY WEEK 56 THAT IS LESS THAN FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT SO LONG AS THE COMPENSATION PAID S. 2873 9 1 IS LESS THAN THE CLAIMANT'S WEEKLY BENEFIT RATE PLUS THE CLAIMANT'S 2 PARTIAL BENEFIT CREDIT, other than with an employer applying for a 3 shared work program. "Work force" shall mean the total work force, a 4 clearly identifiable unit or units thereof, or a particular shift or 5 shifts. The work force subject to reduction shall consist of no less 6 than two employees. 7 S 30. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, that section 8 nine of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 9 manner as section 8 of part O of chapter 57 of the laws of 2013, takes 10 effect; and provided further that the amendments to subdivision 1 of 11 section 591 of the labor law made by section twelve of this act shall 12 not affect the expiration of such subdivision and shall be deemed 13 expired therewith provided further that the amendments to section 591-a 14 of the labor law made by section fourteen of this act shall not affect 15 the expiration of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.