Bill Text: NY S04402 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to decreasing the length of the suspension period applicable to certain individuals who lose their jobs due to a labor dispute, such as a strike, and who seek to obtain unemployment insurance benefits; decreases the suspension period from two consecutive weeks to one week; provides that the waiting period and suspension period shall be served concurrently.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-3)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-06 - RECOMMIT, ENACTING CLAUSE STRICKEN [S04402 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04402-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4402

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 8, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- 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 decreasing the  length  of
          the  suspension period applicable to certain striking workers who seek
          to obtain unemployment insurance benefits

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivisions  1 and 3 of section 592 of the labor law, as
     2  amended by chapter 20 of the laws  of  2020,  are  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    1. Industrial controversy. (a) The accumulation of benefit rights by a
     5  claimant  shall  be suspended during a period of [two consecutive weeks]
     6  one week beginning with the day after such  claimant  lost  his  or  her
     7  employment  because  of  a strike or other industrial controversy except
     8  for lockouts, including concerted activity not authorized or  sanctioned
     9  by  the  recognized  or  certified bargaining agent of the claimant, and
    10  other concerted activity conducted in violation of any existing  collec-
    11  tive  bargaining  agreement, in the establishment in which he or she was
    12  employed, except that benefit rights may be accumulated before the expi-
    13  ration of such [two] one week period beginning with the day  after  such
    14  strike or other industrial controversy was terminated.
    15    (b) Benefits shall not be suspended under this section if:
    16    (i)  The employer hires a permanent replacement worker for the employ-
    17  ee's position. A replacement worker shall be presumed  to  be  permanent
    18  unless  the employer certifies in writing that the employee will be able
    19  to return to his or her prior position upon conclusion of the strike, in
    20  the event the strike terminates prior to the conclusion of  the  employ-
    21  ee's eligibility for benefit rights under this chapter. In the event the
    22  employer  does  not  permit  such  return  after such certification, the
    23  employee shall be entitled to recover any benefits lost as a  result  of
    24  the [two] one week suspension of benefits, and the department may impose

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01295-01-3
        S. 4402                             2

     1  a  penalty  upon  the  employer of up to seven hundred fifty dollars per
     2  employee per week of benefits lost. The penalty collected shall be  paid
     3  into  the  unemployment  insurance  control fund established pursuant to
     4  section five hundred fifty-two-b of this article; or
     5    (ii) The commissioner determines that the claimant:
     6    (A)  is not employed by an employer that is involved in the industrial
     7  controversy that caused his or her unemployment and is not participating
     8  in the industrial controversy; or
     9    (B) is not in a bargaining unit involved in the industrial controversy
    10  that caused his or her unemployment and  is  not  participating  in  the
    11  industrial controversy.
    12    3. Terms of suspension. [No] The waiting period may be served during a
    13  suspension period.
    14    The  suspension  of accumulation of benefit rights shall not be termi-
    15  nated by subsequent employment of the claimant irrespective of when  the
    16  claim  is  filed  except as provided in subdivision one and shall not be
    17  confined to a single benefit year.
    18    A "week" as used in subdivision one of this section  means  any  seven
    19  consecutive calendar days.
    20    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.