Relates to rights to benefits and wages

Section 2 would amend subdivision 1 of section 518 of the labor law in 1-w in order to provide for a graduated increase in the taxable wage base of each employee for which each employer is liable to pay unemployment insurance contributions to $9,750 in 2009, $11,500 in 2010, 13,000 in 2011, 15,000 in 2012, and from 2013 forward indexed to inflation.

Section 3 would amend subdivision 10 of section 590 of the labor law in order to address colleges or universities assigned the North American industry classification code 611310 or 611210 for services performed in a principal administrative, research or instructional capacity. It is the employer's burden to address reasonable assurance and provision of proper documentation.

Section 4 would amend subsection (d) of subdivision 11 of section 590 of the labor law and add a new subsection e to address claimants who were employed in other than an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity by an educational institution.

Section 5 would amend Section 10 of chapter 413 of the laws of 2003 amending the labor law relating to self-employment assistance. Section 6 of the bill would amend Labor Law §593(1) to confirm that individuals who are voluntarily separated from employment due to compelling family reasons are eligible for UI benefits and defines domestic violence and those who qualify under this definition.

Section 7 of the bill would amend Labor Law §§593(2) and 596(5) of the Labor Law to provide that individuals who have worked on a part-time basis for the majority of time during their base period shall remain eligible to receive UI benefits if they are available to work a corresponding number of hours in new employment, and may not be disqualified from receiving benefits due to their refusal to accept full-time employment.

Section 8 would amend Subdivision 5 of section 596 of the labor law, as added by chapter 705 of the laws of 1944 and as renumbered by section 148-a of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997. This section defines "short time worker" and their access to UI benefits.

Section 9 would amend Section 599 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 593 of the laws of 1991 in regards to career related training including remedial education and preservation of eligibility for UI.

Section 10 would amend section 3 of chapter 831 of the laws of 1981 amending the labor law relating to fees and expenses in unemployment insurance proceedings and the effective dates.

Section 11 would amend section 4 of section 597 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 61 of the laws of 1998 in relation to decisions made by a referee, the appeal board, or a court that results in decrease or denial of benefits.

Section 12 would amend the opening paragraph of paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of section 511 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 6675 of the laws of 1977. The term "employment" includes agricultural labor.

Section 13 amends section 564 of the labor law, as added by chapter 675 of the laws of 1977 regarding agricultural labor crews. S

Section 14 of the bill would make various changes to Labor Law §601, as follows:

* Labor Law §601(1)(a)(1) would be amended to expand the definition of "state on indicator" to add an optional "state on indicator" using the State's Total Unemployment Rate (TUR), whenever Congress has appropriates funds to fully reimburse the benefit costs from the State UI Trust Fund resulting there under, as has occurred under ARRA.

* Labor Law §601(1)(a)(2) would be amended to provide that he definition of "state off indicator" is only applicable if none of the options specified in subparagraph 1 result in an "on" indicator.

* A new Labor Law §601(1)(a)(4) would be added to provide a definition for the term "rate of totally unemployment"

* Labor Law §601(1)(a)(4) would be amended to extend the eligibility period to include the alternate eligibility period provided for in Section 2005(b) of Public Law 111-5 or other federal law.

* The definitions of "extended benefits" and "regular benefits" in Labor Law §601 would be amended to conform to definitions found in federal law and to reflect the alternative extended benefits eligibility period set forth in ARRA.

* Labor Law §601(2)(f) would be amended to conform language setting forth the earnings requirements for UI eligibility contained in UR Reform legislations enacted as Chapter 589 of the Laws of 1998 with federal law.

* Labor Law §601(3) would be amended to provide for additional benefits during "periods of high unemployment," providing Congress provides 100% sharing of the benefit costs resulting there under.

* Labor Law §601(4) would be amended to conform the UI benefit charging provisions related to Indian tribes to corresponding language in recent federal legislation covering this topic. This section is also amended to provide that benefit costs for an extended benefit program that are subject to 100% federal sharing shall be charged to the UI general account and credited with such federal payments received in the fund.

* Labor law §601(5) would be amended to provide an exclusion authorized by federal law relating to work search requirements for claimants in approved training programs, and to conform state law to federal law provisions related to disqualifying circumstances and the subsequent work requirements for reestablishing eligibility under Labor Law §593.

Section 15 would amend paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 538 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 831 of the laws of 1981. Claims shall not be enforceable unless approved by the appeal board and shall in not event exceed the benefit allowed.

Section 16 would add a new section of §541 of the labor law regarding a Domestic Violence Training Program for employees that interact with such claimants.

Section 17 would amend subdivision 1 of section 560 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 103 of the laws of 1965. This amends employer liability regarding contributions made under this article if he has paid remuneration of (three hundred) ONE THOUSAND dollars or more in any calendar quarter, except that liability with respect persons employed in personal or domestic service in private homes shall be considered separately.

Section 18 is the effective date.

Justification

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) contains financial incentives for states to modernize their UI laws to make benefits more widely and equitably available to the unemployed. These "UI Modernization" incentives would bring nearly $442.2 million in federal funds to New York in the form of an additional $412.7 million dollars in UI benefit money and an additional $29.5 million in UI administrative costs. This legislation would make improvements to a wide range of unemployment issues which needs to be updated. In light of the current economic situation the unemployment insurance system must be reformed in order to provide adequate benefits and retraining to unemployed workers. This bill allows for a graduate increase in the maximum unemployment insurance benefit in order to provide for the increased expenses an unemployed worker must face and to allow for a reasonable adjustment period for employers over time. This bill would also raise the amount of pay an employer must compensate his workers before becoming liable for unemployment insurance contributions. This bill would also address problems with professional and nonprofessional employees of academic institutions. These employees have no "reasonable assurance" that they will have a job when the next semester states as that decision rests entirely with the employers and is often based on contingent factors such as enrollment, funding, and programmatic changes. In many cases, these employees are not notified by the college or university that there is no position for them until they are very close to the state of the next semester. In fact, current law provides an incentive for colleges and universities to wait as long as possible to officially disclose to part-time faculty that they will not be employed for the upcoming semester to avoid paying unemployment insurance costs for those employed between semesters.

This bill would also clean up various sections of the labor law relating to unemployment insurance in order to remove inconsistencies and allow for survivors of domestic violence to collect unemployment insurance benefits. The cost of domestic violence on individuals, families and society as a whole can be devastating. .Physical, emotional, psychological and financial burdens are places on such victims and this legislation would offer financial protection to those who have lost their jobs or who must flee their homes and jobs in order to secure their safety due to domestic violence.