What's happening
This bill allows certain part-time elected county or municipal officials with low earnings to receive partial unemployment insurance benefits.
Why it matters
Addresses a gap for low-paid part-time public officials. Many small-town or rural elected officials work part-time and earn modest stipends, making them financially vulnerable if they lose other employment; this bill allows them to access partial unemployment benefits, providing a safety net.
Encourages civic participation from working-class citizens. By ensuring that part-time elected officials aren’t penalized for their public service when they face unemployment in their main job, the bill may lower barriers for working-class people to serve in local government.
Limits eligibility to prevent abuse. The bill only applies if the official’s pay from public service is below the annual equivalent of minimum wage for full-time hours, targeting the benefit to those who genuinely need it rather than higher-paid or full-time officials.
Ensures partial offset of benefits. Instead of “double-dipping,” the bill only allows officials to receive the difference between their unemployment benefit and public pay, ensuring fairness and protecting the unemployment insurance fund.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Unemployment Aid for Officials
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
3 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2094
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, CAHILL, GALEF -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. HOOPER, LIFTON, RIVERA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to providing unemployment insurance benefits to certain part-time elected officials
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 522 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 720 of the laws of 1953, is amended to read as follows:
§ 522. Total unemployment. "Total unemployment" means the total lack of any employment on any day. The term "employment" as used in this section means any employment including that not defined in this title but shall not include service as an elected county or municipal official.
§ 2. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 413 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
1. Unemployment. Benefits, except as provided in section five hundred ninety-one-a of this title, shall be paid only to a claimant who is totally unemployed and who is unable to engage in his or her usual employment or in any other for which he or she is reasonably fitted by training and experience. A claimant who is receiving benefits under this article shall not be denied such benefits pursuant to this subdivision or to subdivision two of this section because of such claimant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state or of the United States or such claimant's service as an elected county or municipal official; provided, however that such claimant's pay for service as an elected county or municipal official is less than the product of the minimum wage times two thousand hours per year. Such claimant serving as an elected county or municipal official while receiving unemployment insurance benefits shall only receive the amount of the difference between the weekly bene-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06298-01-7
A. 2094 2
fit amount and the amount of weekly earnings from such elected public service.
§ 3. Subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law, as amended by chapter 446 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
1. Unemployment. Benefits shall be paid only to a claimant who is totally unemployed and who is unable to engage in his or her usual employment or in any other for which he or she is reasonably fitted by training and experience. A claimant who is receiving benefits under this article shall not be denied such benefits pursuant to this subdivision or to subdivision two of this section because of such claimant's service on a grand or petit jury of any state or of the United States or such claimant's service as an elected county or municipal official; provided, however that such claimant's pay for service as an elected county or municipal official is less than the product of the minimum wage times two thousand hours per year. Such claimant serving as an elected county or municipal official while receiving unemployment insurance benefits shall only receive the amount of the difference between the weekly benefit amount and the amount of weekly earnings from such elected public service.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 591 of the labor law made by section two of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision pursuant to section 10 of chapter 413 of the laws of 2003, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section three of this act shall take effect.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.